Wing Sum Sammi Mak (b. 1996) was born and raised in Hong Kong and is currently based in London. She completed her Master's Degree in Fine Arts Painting at the University of the Arts London (Camberwell) and received her Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts from the Academy of Visual Arts of Hong Kong Baptist University. Since completing her Master's degree, Mak has swiftly entered the contemporary art scene and gained popularity among international art institutions, galleries, and collectors.Collectors include institutions such as AlA Insurance and individual collectors across the United States, United Kingdom, China, Europe, and Southeast Asia. In 2023, Mak had a solo presentation at Art Central Hong Kong and was interviewed by the China Daily and featured by the Financial Times. Her exhibitions and artworks have also been widely covered by other mainstream media outlets such as Vogue.
Mak's artistic inspiration often stems from nature and literary works, paricularily the works of Anne Carson, Elena Ferrante and Hélène Cixous. She views painting as a form of language, capturing and abstracting experiences and emotions, infusing unapologetic romantic emotions into her brushstrokes, and creating landscapes akin to poetry. As an abstract painter, Mak masterfully communicates emotions through her artwork, evoking sensory resonance in viewers.
"My works manifest how painterliness stands in the position of language depicting my experience in reality and connection with the universe. The system of poetry opens up my exploration of lexicology with fragments of words to visualisation within the blank space in memories and language. My works are rooted in with connection of the radical beauty of nature, creating the path to connect with history and human emotions, as an immersive way to communicate more than in chronological time-space.
I create spaces with a sense of openness through the fluidity and tenderness of paint, with bold action from my body to brushes. Blank and open spaces in my painting invite the audience to engage actively, which allows connection of the visual fragments. It draws me into the float stage through creating, as an abstraction of emotions and experiences, allowing the stimulation of senses to occur, allowing the power of imagination."
-Sammi Mak