Alisan Fine Arts is delighted to present its sixth solo exhibition for Chinyee (1929-2023), honouring six decades of the renowned female abstractionist’s career. A first-generation Chinese-American artist, Chinyee was associated with the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. This exhibition marks her first posthumous solo show in Hong Kong since her passing in 2023 and features around a dozen oil paintings along with selected works on paper, including watercolours and collages created between 1955 and 2018. From traditional calligraphic strokes to vibrant Western hues, these pieces invite viewers to revisit the artist's evolution in abstraction. Many of the pieces have never been exhibited in Hong Kong, including several that will make their global debut.
Born in Nanjing, China, in 1929, Chinyee began her formal education in Chongqing, where her family sought refuge during the Sino- Japanese War. In 1947, she was awarded a scholarship to study Fine Arts at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York. Like other Chinese diaspora artists of her generation, such as Walasse Ting, she arrived in the United States during the peak of Abstract Expressionism, which inspired her to explore abstract art.
Initially trained in traditional methods, including drawing, watercolour, and oil painting, Chinyee began her artistic journey with a focus on realism. However, it was during the 1950s that she began to experiment with semi-abstract art before fully embracing total abstraction. Her work uniquely combines Eastern spirit and Western expression, with gestural and loose brushstrokes that reflect both Asian brush techniques and her careful study of modernist abstraction.
Chinyee’s spontaneous touch, the excitement of her offset compositions, and the unexpected bursts of colour are genuine expressions of her moods, emotions, and life experiences. In the 1980s, her fascination with Peking Opera transformed her creative rhythm and methods; the lines in her paintings became more resonant and forceful, intertwining in length and strength. This evolution mirrors the highs and lows of musical notes, resulting in a distinct personal style that encapsulates her journey as an artist. In her own words:
“The gestural strokes and linear lines are an essential part of my painting, and they are the most satisfying movements that I enjoy. These free gestures are often the final touches of my painting... It is my own created stage upon which I sing and I dance.” - quote from ‘Foreword’, A Lyrical Journey: Chinyee’s 50-Year Retrospective, Shanghai Art Museum, 2007 (p.7)
