Art of the West digital magazine
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/32473
Joie de Vivre By Mary Nelson T he joy of liv- i n g—s i n g - ing, dancing, laughing, and play- ing—are the main components in nearly all of Canadian art- ist Clement Kwan’s paintings. “I like my paintings to express happiness,” he says. “I use my artistic skills to create art that will give people joy and hope. Art is my tool for helping to make the world a bet- ter place.” As a citizen of China during what he calls a politically difficult time, Kwan learned early that joy and laughter often were tenuous. He will talk about China when asked, but he will not speak at length, nor with enthusiasm or animation. If pressed for more information, he might respond, “I don’t want to talk about that; I don’t want to be political,” thus halting further discourse. Enthralled with art at a young age, however, and at his mother’s instigation, Kwan managed to take some art classes sanctioned by the Chinese government. He was allowed to paint murals and background scenery for a stage company, jobs that were in line with the government’s specification, but to paint with any abandon or personal creativity was not allowed. Eventually, the stringent government controls took their toll. In 1979, Kwan escaped the political oppres- sion and went in search of freedom of expression by immi- grating to Canada. “In China, you are never free to do your own painting; it’s so political,” Kwan says. “You may have some freedom Red Scarf, oil, 24˝ by 18˝ “A group of Ukrainian ladies perform their favorite Red Scarf dance piece each year at the summer culture festival. Their dancing is full of joy and happiness.” to do exercises, creat- ing something as part of a painting exer- cise, but the political atmosphere won’t let you make it public. So there’s not much freedom to create. [In Canada] you are free to do whatever you like. You can be as creative as you want to be. You are free to express, and that is so valuable.” At age 24, Kwan joined his older broth- ers in Canada, where they had immigrated several years before. He found steady work in a factory and tried to forget about pur- suing art as a career. In the early 1980s, he met Jeannie, and the couple married in 1986. Two years later Alex was born, followed three years later by Marissa. For a long time, Kwan was content to work his factory job and raise his family. “I never thought about art, because I didn’t think I could make a living as an artist,” he says. “I was still inter- ested in art and would look at the work of local artists, but I never even painted on the side.” Although Kwan’s interest in painting, music, and perform- ing arts never waned, the closest he came to artistic expres- sion was playing traditional Chinese music (he plays the bamboo flute) with other musicians for local festivals and in senior citizen centers. In 1995, Kwan’s perspective on his ability to make a liv- ing as an artist was challenged. The itch to paint began to fester when he ran into his old friend, Mian Situ, in Toronto. Situ, a native of Kwan’s hometown in China, was teaching art May/June 2011 • ART of the WEST 49