Biography

Nelson Hor Ee Herng (born 1998, Penang) is a Malaysian Chinese artist currently practicing in Tokyo. Hor graduated with a BA in fine arts from Tama Art University in 2022. In his college years, Hor explored all kinds of mediums to find the perfect tools to express his voice as an artist. 

He uses mineral pigments and believes they are like a primal link between humanity and nature as the ancient people used mineral pigments to paint murals to convey messages and record incidents of the time. Hor thinks it would be interesting to use this medium as a tool to document issues related to our modern society, such as depression and discrimination against LGBTQ people. 

In his graduation piece, Hor decided to use letters, or more specifically, envelopes to represent his voice. An envelope is a transportation of words but it’s also very personal and intimate, it has to be unfolded and peeked into to get the message.

Hor believes that art is uniquely positioned to move people―inspiring people, inciting new questions and provoking curiosity, excitement and outrage. Therefore, he purposely exposes the “personal” contents and allows people to peep at them. Hor sees his work as a mirror that reflects empathy and hopes it could bring new discoveries and connections for both the artist and the audience.

Solo Exhibitions

2022

  • “Memory is a Garden”, GALLERY ETHER (Tokyo, Japan)

2021

  • “A Letter a Day”, hayDen Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan)

2020

  • “not seeing is a flower”, PULPISM (Tokyo, Japan)

Group Exhibitions

2022

  • “Take Time to Unwind Your Mind”, Aoyama Hachi (Tokyo, Japan)
  • "Future of Japanese Hanging Scrolls and Paintings Exhibition", Sankeien Garden (Yokohama, Japan)
  • "Sound Blood Vol.II", The Holy Art Gallery (London, UK)
  • "Behind the Closet", Shinjuku Ganka Art Gallery (Tokyo Japan)

2021

  • “colors in sight”, Gallery 201 (Tokyo, Japan)
  • "80th Nihonga-In Exhibition", Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Tokyo, Japan)
  • "The Divine Feminine", hayDen Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan)

2020

  • “Inochi”, CHANGTING GALLERY (Tokyo, Japan)

2019

  • "Itadakimasu", Mintaka Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)

2018

  • "Kaleidoscope", Mintaka Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)

Awards

2022

  • "Spotlight 2022", Finalist (Penang, Malaysia)
  • "16th Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi", Akira Tatehata Judge Awards (Tokyo, Japan)
  • "Tama University Graduation Exhibition", Merit Award (Tokyo, Japan)

2021

  • "17th The World Art Exhibition", Sponsorship Prize (Tokyo, Japan)
  • "46th International Modern Art Exhibition", Encouragement Prize (Tokyo, Japan)

2016

  • "傳承·愛 3rd Illustration Contest for Secondary Schools", First Prize (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)