Intelligence Online | COLIN KWOK

• Current commission on Mayne Island
• Gallery of Works

Trained as an architect but passionate as a bronze sculptor, Colin was trained at the Rhode Island School of Design. 

Colin's father is STANLEY KWOK who was former President of BC Place, and Concord Pacific Developments   He is currently director of Cheung Kong Holdings in Hong Kong.  Step mother is EVA LEE KWOK super (Canadian) Corporate director .    She is one of those individuals who inspire thru example.  Some of her achievements are a first for women in Canada - including first Chinese Canadian bank and airline director.

AWARDS & COMMISSIONS 

• 1994 British Columbia Snow Sculpture Competition, First Prize.
• Silver Star Mountain. [The Hour of Truth]
• 1994 World Sand Sculpture Championships, Master Team Entry.
• Harrison Hot Springs. [The Hunger]
• 1995 Le Prix d'Excellence du Canada. Le Concours National de
• Sculpture sur Neige.
• Le Prix du Public. Carnival de Quebec. [Pour Toujours]
• 1995 Palais de Montcalm. Quebec, Canada. [Exhibition]
• 1995 L' International Sculpture Neige du Carnaval de Quebec.
• Canadian National Team Entry. [Victory]
• 1996 Lumiere. Best French Restaurant. Vancouver Magazine Award. Interior Design;  Best Restaurant of the Year. Vancouver Magazine Award
• 1997 Masterpiece Gallery. Vancouver, Canada. [Maquette Exhibition]
• 1998 Eastside Culture Crawl. East Vancouver, Canada. [Exhibition]
• 1999 Third Prize. Sapporo International Snow Sculpture Competition.
• Sapporo, Japan. [Our Dreams Hold Up The Sky]
• Public art Grouse Mountain Corporation. North Vancouver, Canada.
• Alone. Snow. [35 ft. long]
• St. Paul Winter Carnival. MN, U.S.A. The Quickening.
• Snow. [16 tons]
• The Globe and Mail. Spanish Banks, B.C. Seaside Lament.
• Sand. [1 1/2 life size]
• Shapiro Hankinson Knutson, Main Lobby. Vancouver, Canada.
• Nike. Bronze. [3 ft.]
• Vancouver Aids Memorial. Lost Dreams. Marble. [proposal,
• 13 ft. high, 2 figures]
• Southeast Granville Slopes Park. The Story of The Sun &
• The Moon. Bronze.
• [proposal, 2 figures, both twice life size]
• Memorial des Irlandais. Grosse Ile, Quebec. Earth /
• Granite / Bronze. [proposal, 72 ft. diameter]
• Crystal Square Management Inc. Burnaby, B.C. Aurora.
• Bronze [in progress, 3/4 ton, 12 ft. long].
• private art Karen Lain Butler. Matrydom of a Mannequin. White Gold.
• Eddie Maifredi. Misguided Angel. Bronze [in progress]
• Karl J Brunner. The Fall. Bronze [in progress]
• formerly Head of The Speakers Bureau. The Canadian Cancer Society.
• [volunteer]
• Founder / President. Silicon Ice Productions. [Event Sand and Snow Sculptures]
• Sculptor In Chief. Shaken Not Stirred. [Competition Sandsculpting Team]
• Consultant / Teacher. Junior Achievement. [volunteer]
• Mentor / Teacher. Syllabus Design Program, The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

PHILOSOPHY

Azurean Sculpture is a company that views art as an exquisite form of communication. Though we create for specific audiences, in particular locations, we create in such a way that all in an audiences can find something in our work, whether they happen to be six years old or hold multiple doctorates in Philosophy. We strive to provide the enduring and the wonder which so motivates in the Art we admire and at the same time doit with a post modern sensibility that has no illusions, or pretensions of being anything other than what we are.

Certain qualities play with the sculptures done by Azurean, they may be thought of in terms of layers or levels of content.

1. The first level is the initial overall impression or visual gestalt. Considered are aesthetics on a compositional level and the technical limits and mastery of the medium used.

2. The second level is the surface meaning and presentation of what iscarved. It is about the style of carving and the ability to read and understand a sculpture. It is the story and its clarity.

3. The third level is concerned with the underlying meaning of a sculpture. How what is carved relates to the greater context of the world and what strength lies hidden within. This is the philosophy of the artist and the artwork and how it connects to the world.

4. The fourth level is about mystery. It provides the enduring quality of being able to look at a sculpture many times and find new insights. [It isn't about showing others what you know, it is about showing them what it is possible for them to know within themselves]

5. The fifth level is about magic. It is the seamless integration of every level that enables a sculpture to appear as if bronze or stone could not have contained any other form or had any other reason to exist. It is the ineffable quality which imbues every aspect of a sculpture with every other. It makes thinking about a sculpture in terms of levels difficult, as there are no boundaries between levels; each level contains and reveals the seeds of all the other.

We are primarily interested in Art that is still Art. You can pick it up and move it in a thousand years half way across the world and people can still appreciate it. This means that it is both specific to a purpose and that it has enough passion and depth to contain multiple meanings. Our strength is in finding and expressing the essence of a project while keeping all of this in mind. Our aspirations are to make Art that is about life.   - Colin Kwok  B.F.A., B.Arch., M.A.I.B.C., M.R.A.I.C., M.H.