PROMISING N.Z. CARVER

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26903, 2 December 1952, Page 6

PROMISING N.Z. CARVER

Young Chinese Studies In London PLAN TO RETURN TO DOMINION [From the London Correspondent oi “The LONDON, November 10. Working in a cluttered studio in the Royal College of Art in South Kensington is a modest, soft-spoken young New Zealander who may one day become the country's leading sculptor and carver. He is Guy Ngan, a 26-year-old Chinese from Hutt Valley. Unlike many other talented New Zealand artists in Britain who claim that there is no future for them in their home country, Guy Ngan firmly believes that, when he is fully trained, there are great opportunities for his w-ork in New Zealand. With no scholarships or Government grants to assist him. he has travelled to England to train himself in a special field of contemporary art —sculpture and decorative carving applied to architectural work.

Mr Ngan came to England last year, and since then there have been few days when he has not been hard at work in a studio, or else travelling in England and the Continent on his two-stroke motor cycle to study sculpture and buildings. For five months he took courses in clay modelling, live drawing, and sculpture at the Goldsmith School of Art, London. Then, to get into the Royal College of Art, he competed with 70 other students from Britain and all over the world in a stiff entrance examination. The applicants were reduced to 25 after they had submitted samples and photographs of their work. A further examination which involved writing an essay, modelling a head in clay, and designing a bas-relief reduced the number of applicants to the 10 finally admitted to the college. Special Course of Study

The outstanding promise already displayed by the young Chinese artist is showm by the fact that he was accepted as a student in a special course in the wood, metal and plastic school of the college. He has no set syllabus like the other students, and his plan of work is developed after frequent discussions with professors of the school. At present his special interest is in wood carving in relation to contemporary decoration, with particular emphasis on harmony of architecture, sculpture and furnishings. According to the cautious estimate of one of his instructors, he show's “considerable promise and may develop into a brilliant artist.” Mr Ngan has been interested in an art career as long as he can remember. Although born in New Zealand, he travelled to China with his parents as an infant, and it was there that he first made childish drawings. He returned to Wellington as a schoolboy in 1938. His artistic bent led a friend to lend him a studio to “play around” after school. His untutored carving and modelling showed promise. From 1942 to 1949, he attended night classes in art at the Wellington Technical College, and worked in the day time as a carver on furniture and memorial stone. Search for Criticism

With few critics available in New Zealand to assess the quality of his work, Mr Ngan decided to study in England, where he could be sure of plenty of expert criticism. On vacations from the Royal College of Art, he has visited cathedral towns, museums and art galleries in England, and in the longer term holidays, he has travelled to Austria, Italy, and Southern France to study architecture and sculpture.

When his associate course is finished in 1954, Mr Ngan will return to New Zealand and try to interest architects in his work. “It will be hard work at first, but I believe that modern buildings should reflect our feelings,” he said today. “The visual sense of decoration has been lost in buildings, but it is coming back in modern architecture.

“Up to now, sculpture and carving have usually been put in buildings as an after-thought, but they should have a unity with the buildings, and be part of the whole artistic structure,” he said. “I am training here to get to know my materials and what to do with them. When I return to New .Zealand, I hope I can put my training to good use.”