Hoo Mojong

1924 Shanghai, China

Introduction

Hoo Mojong was born in Shanghai in 1924 and is a well-known oil painter, recognised for her portrayals of figures and still life depictions. When she was twenty-six, she left China and travelled to Taiwan, Brazil then Spain before settling in Paris in 1965. Like Zao Wou-ki, Chu Teh-Chun and Chao Chung-Hsiang, Hoo belongs to a group of artists who left China in the middle of the twentieth century to observe first-hand European culture and arts. Although they settled in their adoptive countries, many struggled to find a cultural identity. Though Hoo was almost immediately recognised for her art after moving to Paris, as demonstrated by winning first prize at the “Salon Femme Peinture” competition in 1968, stylistically her work neither fits with the Paris School nor is it Social Realist in nature. Her work has been described as simple and casual, because of her attention to objects from everyday life cast in natural yet powerful brushstrokes. As a woman in China, she did not have the same opportunities as her male counterparts to formally study art, so upon arrival in Paris, she went to the Académie de la Grande Chaumière almost every day to learn oil painting and sketching techniques. In 1994, after having lived abroad for over thirty years, she held her first solo exhibition in Taiwan. In 2002, she moved back to Shanghai, and in 2012 passed away.

Alisan Fine Arts first began representing Hoo Mojong in 1996, organising a solo exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum, and simultaneously at the gallery that year. Since then the gallery has held three solo exhibitions – two in conjunction with Le French May – and included her works in several group exhibitions; notably, her work was featured as part of The Chinese Root: Works by Mainland and Overseas Chinese Artists held by the gallery at the Shanghai Art Museum in 1997. Hoo’s paintings have been exhibited in over thirty solo and group exhibitions across the globe, including at the Shanghai Art Museum; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Today Art Museum, Beijing; Art Museum of Central Art Academy, Beijing; Shenzhen Art Museum; Ningbo Art Museum. Her works are present in the collections of the National Library of France; Culture Ministry of France; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Taiwan Mountain Art Museum; Shanghai Art Museum.



SELECTED SOLO  EXHIBITIONS
2007 

  • The Grand Exhibition of Hoo Mojong
2003
  •  Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
2000
  •  Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
1996
  • Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
  • Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong 
1994
  • Gallery Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan
1983
  • Gallery Conseil Regional of Bourgogne, Dijon, France
1981
  • Gallery Orient, Paris, France
1971
  • Gallery C. Colin, Paris, France 
1970
  • Gallery Ariance, Goteborg, Sweden
1969
  • Gallery C. Colin, Paris, France
1965
  • Gallery San Luis, Sao Paulo, Brazil 
  • Gallery O.C.A., Rio de Janerio, Brazil
1960
  • Salon of Minerva del Belles-Artes, Madrid, Spain

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022
  • Being, Zhi Art Museum, Chengdu, China

2016
2008
1999
  • Portraits of Women, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
1997
  • Taipei-Paris, Tendances de la Peinture Figurative, Centre Culturel et d'Information de Taipei à Paris
  • The Chinese Root: Works by Mainland and Overseas Chinese Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China 
1994
  • Taipei-Paris, Chinese Artists from Paris, Gate Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1986
  • The International City of Art, Paris, France
1984
  • Salon Jeune Peinture, Paris, France
1983
  • Salon Jeune Peinture, Paris, France
1982
  • Salon of Chinese Paintings, Paris, France
1981
  • Figurative Art, Critics Choice, Paris, France
1980
  • The Contemporary Fine Art Salon Montrouge, Paris, France
1978
  • Paco Des Arts, Sao Paulo, Brazil
1976
  • Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany
1975
  • Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany
1974
  • International Print Exhibition, Fredikstad, Norway
1973
  • Grande et Jeune d'Aujourd'hui, Paris, France
  • Contemporary Art, National Library, Paris, France 
1972
  • Grande at Jeune d'Aujourd'hui, Paris, France
  • Salon des Realities, Paris, France
  • International Prit Exhibition, Germany
1971
  • The International Print Exhibtion, New York, USA
  • The International Print Exhibition, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Salon of May, Paris, France 
1970
  • The International City of Fine Art, Paris, France 
1969
  • Salon Comparaisons, Paris, France 
1968
  • The International print Exhibition Leige, Belgium
  • Salon Femme Peinture, Paris, France (First Award)
  • The International  Print Exhibition, Pistoria, Italy
1965
  • First Contemporary Art exhibition, Compinas, Brazil
1964
  • Contemporary Art Exhibtion, Sao Paulo, Brazil

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
National Library of France, Paris, France
Culture Ministry of France, Paris, France
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Taiwan Mountain Art Museum, Taiwan