Hung Hsien is a pioneering artist who fused Chinese ink painting with Western abstraction. Born in China in 1933, she moved to Taiwan in 1948, studying under the imperial Prince and revered scholar-painter, Pu Ru. In 1958, she relocated to Chicago. There, she trained in Western art at Northwestern University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, engaging deeply with Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism, and other modernist movements.
This diverse background led her to develop a unique style in the mid-1960s, blending traditional Chinese painting techniques with Western abstract expressionism. At age 91, Hung has exhibited worldwide and continues to paint in Houston, Texas, where she resides today. Inspired by artists such as Mark Tobey, Arshile Gorky, and Willem de Kooning, as well as Japanese woodblock prints, Hung developed a distinct artistic language that fused lyrical brushstrokes, abstract forms, and bold color blocks—an approach that continues to resonate with contemporary artists today.
Recent exhibitions include a major retrospective at Asia Society Houston in 2025, which traveled to Asia Society Hong Kong in 2026. Hung’s work has been exhibited and collected in several museums, including the Smithsonian Museum, the Portland Art Museum, Hong Kong Art Museum, Cleveland Art Museum, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
