London artist Jacky TsaI synthesizes Eastern and Western symbols, from Mahjong tiles to Memento Mori

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What do you want to know: Founded in 1999, eye storm initially focused on – and quickly rose to prominence for – releasing limited artists’ editions. Over more than two decades, Eyestorm has worked with some of the world’s most famous artists, such as Maurizio Cattelan, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Ed Ruscha, to name a few, many of them before they only become household names. Eyestorm continues to offer works by established artists, but also showcases a vibrant and diverse lineup of emerging artists, creating an opportunity for collectors to invest in the work of early-career artists. In 2011, Henrik Riis, part of a group of entrepreneurs who acquired Eyestorm, was appointed CEO and began a revitalization process that remained true to the gallery’s philosophy and mission. Part of this included adding a Chinese artist based in London Jacky Tsaiwhich at the time was gaining traction in the art world and has since become internationally recognized and exhibited.

About the artist: Jacky Tsai (b. 1984) has an artistic practice centered on the synthesis of oriental techniques and symbolism with references to western pop art, resulting in a unique visual lexicon that both reflects and comments on contemporary reality. Working with a wide range of mediums, from traditional works on canvas to NFTs, Tsai’s work materially addresses themes of time, creating works of “past, present and future”. Tsai received his BA from the China Academy of Art, after which he moved to London to study at Central Saint Martins, and in 2022 he was named Artist of the Year by the Digital Art Fair, Hong Kong, celebrating the decade the artist has spent working in both traditional and digital art mediums. His first major museum exhibition, “Life-Fantasy”, in China opened the same year, and he is currently the subject of a solo exhibition at MOCA Bangkok, “Reincarnation”, on view until July 23, 2023.

Why we love it: Tsai’s body of work contains an intriguing series of dichotomies – between the narrative and the abstract, the serious and the humorous, the traditional and the avant-garde and, apparently, the Eastern and the Western. . Often the antecedents of individual patterns and compositions are instantly recognizable, but when considered as part of the whole, the unique balance Tsai imparts through the crafting of each work results in something that transcends individual elements. In Gaming Skull (Jack of Diamonds) (2014), for example, the overall composition is that of a common playing card with a skull. On closer inspection, however, the skull is made up of juxtaposed and overlapping designs taken from gambling culture – the teeth are made of mahjong tiles, the eyes of roulettes. The artwork is part of a series of 15 unique playing card compositions. Other works, like puppets (2016) illustrate Tsai’s skillful use of Eastern and Western cultural icons. Here, a scene takes place in a traditional Chinese puppet house, but the puppets playing are characters from the contemporary DC and Marvel comic universes.