Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.
Chris Huen Sin-kan was born in 1991 in Hong Kong, where he spent much of his life before relocating to the English countryside with his wife and young family. With an emphasis in painting, Huen’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality, such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn.
Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress, Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Huen has been a part of numerous solo and group presentations in locations worldwide, including Vancouver, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. In September 2025, his work was curated by Matt Carey-Williams for a solo exhibition at The Bomb Factory Foundation, Marylebone, entitled ‘The Path and The Fog’.
1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?
‘The Fifer’ by Manet. I saw it at an exhibition in the Hong Kong Art Museum when I was a teenager. It was the first work that made me truly obsess about painting.
2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?
Go for a dog walk or continue with my daily routine. My work is about quiet lived experiences and how we observe ordinary moments.
Sometimes, I revisit previous works to reflect on how I understood things back then.
3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?
Listening to political commentaries. It feels very different from what I focus on in my artistic practice, yet at the same time, it is closely connected to the life I am living.
4. Who is your favourite artist?
Maurizio Cattelan.
5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?
Plagiarism.
6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?
It isn’t exactly a museum or gallery, but Anthony Gormley's installation ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach is an unforgettable experience.
7. What is the worst thing about the art world?
Nothing comes to mind for now. I only hope everyone finds joy in their own little ride.
8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?
Anybody who carries their heart in their work and honours the weight of others’ feelings.
9. What trend in art makes you roll your eyes?
Probably the notion of "art as investments". It blinds us to the journeys we could have taken.
10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?
Hania Rani, Leonard Cohen, LA Priest.
11. What's your favourite colour and why?
Sage green. It reminds me of tenderness and fragility. Perhaps because I associate it with my favourite plant, the crossostephium, whose sage-green leaves wither right after its bright yellow flowers bloom.
12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?
The drawings, crafts, and writing our children have made. It might be cheating, but I’d take at least one from each.
13. What can you tell us about your show, ‘The Path and The Fog’ that's currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation?
The show is about the feelings and experiences of navigating uncertainty in ordinary life. Whether it belongs to the past or future, dreams or reality, perceptions or sensations. We often have a clear sense of how to conceptualise what has already happened and can easily begin to narrate our journey. But during the journey itself, clarity is much harder to find. My painting practice reflects this same phenomenon: the finished work appears to trace a perfect path of every decision made or left unmade, yet the process itself is always shrouded in mist.
14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?
The work ‘Tess and Haze’ (2025) was both the first painting I began and the last I completed in this body of work. It holds all the questions I was exploring at the beginning, while also giving rise to new ideas that pushed me to carry on with the rest of it.
15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?
I hope it encourages people to reflect on their own experiences and create their own version of art.
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