A L I S A N   F I N E   A R T S
Fine Contemporary Chinese Art Since 1981

Presents

Chinyee, Pat Hui & Wucius Wong, and Gao Xingjian

September to October 2008

Chinyee

Based in New York, Chinyee was born in 1929 in Nanjing, China, Chinyee was involved in the arts at an early age, and was rewarded a 4-year scholarship in 1947 to study fine arts at Mt. St. Vincent University, N.Y. followed by her receiving a MEd from New York University in 1952.

Her loose unformulated brushstrokes reflect both Asian brush techniques and years of careful study of modernist abstraction. In her work, one may detect the Willem de Kooning's spontaneity, Joan Mitchell's poignancy, and Mark Rothko's spaciousness.

Chinyee's first solo exhibition was held in 1965 at the prestigious Mi Chou Gallery in Manhattan. Followed by many solo and group exhibitions in the USA, Canada, Asia (Shanghai, Taipei, Japan, Hong Kong), and London. The artist is the recipient of many awards, and her work has been honoured by UNICEF in its educational films and by the U.S. Department of States “Art in Embassies Program”.

Pat Hui & Wucius Wong

Hui and Wong were both students of Lui Shou-kwan, Hong Kong's doyen of Chinese ink painting. Hui and Wong have shared an interest in poetry, calligraphy and painting since they met 46 years ago. Known as the "Three Perfections", this idea dates back to centuries ago, but the artists' approach to it is totally contemporary. Wong not only uses poems from the Tang and Song Dynasties, he also composes modern poems as in Wind Wind Rain Rain. The running cursive calligraphy is superimposed over the colourful abstract "landscape" by Hui. It is a visual translation and interpretation of poetry of colour, sound, scent and scenery.

Although Pat Hui is still based in Minneapolis, Wucius Wong returned to Hong Kong after his experience in the U.S.A. to study western painting (1961-64), observe contemporary art in the West through a J.D. Rockefeller III fellowship fund in 1970, and lecture series in American universities in 1984. Wong has developed his own style by mixing Chinese ink art with contemporary Western design aesthetics; he has integrated design geometry and majestic landscape in his work. He has authored many books on art and design, and his works are included in numerous museum and private collections.

Gao Xingjian

Born in Jiangxi province in Eastern China in 1940, Gao learned to paint at the age of 8, and published his first novel at 10. With the intention of enrolling at the National Academy of Fine Arts, he studied drawing, watercolour, sculpture, Chinese painting and calligraphy. However he was persuaded by his family to study French at the Beijing Institute of Foreign Languages. After graduation, he worked as a translator whilst continuing to paint and write in Beijing. His writings were first published in 1979. Both painter and writer, Gao has received numerous honours from the French Government, and in 2000, his talent as a playwright was the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first Chinese to be so honoured. As a painter, Gao uses a language that is deeper than words yet still reflects his inner visions. The spiritual quality of ink seems to transcend the artist's work.