Hong Kong, July 17, 2012: A painter or sculptor? An artist or an academic? Explore all the worlds of Australian artist Terry Batt. Carefully balancing all facets of his disciplines and overlapping identities, Batt's upcoming show, Equilibrium, features a mixture of paintings from his recent exhibition in Australia as well as newer bronze sculptures, which are often 3D incarnations of his painted figures. Filled with humor, intrigue, personal coding and memories, Batt’s delightful twinned imagery tell how even the absurd can stand next to one another, blend and reconcile. A working artist, a world traveler, an associate professor at the School of Art at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology as well as program leader for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in fine art at the Hong Kong Art School, Batt’s artistic life straddles many worlds, viewpoints and interests. His curious tableaux and sculptures, informed by a global lineage of art making and inspired by his rich collection of curious objects, channels his own take on the order and rationality surrounding the worlds he lives in. Imbued with a surreal aesthetic and pop romanticism, Batt uses the structure of symmetry to highlight the hypothetical balance and imbalance of his personal experiences while posing wider questions on social, cultural, political, economical premises. "The general theme of the exhibition references issues of balance in relation to a number of things. There is the balance of my life between teaching and painting. There is the cultural balance between East and West, particularly for me as a Westerner living in Asia. Hong Kong itself represents a remarkable balancing act between its predominantly Chinese cultural heritage and its geography, together with its past colonial history and the current impact of Western business interests, due to its global economic focus.” --Terry Batt Opening Reception 7.00 – 9.00pm Wednesday, August 1, 2012