The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), The University of Hong Kong is thrilled to present David Clarke: Colour in Space, an exhibition displaying giclée prints of the artist’s own watercolour paintings. By presenting one medium as another, Clarke develops an abstract art that plays with scale and explores different materialities. The images capture both the translucency and opacity of the carefully applied watercolours, while the digital printing technology helps to represent or transfer the design into a scalable print form.

Beyond the multifaceted visual qualities of these works, Clarke is interested in the relation and transfer of words into images and vice versa. Where abstract art is less confined to representing definable subject matter, the ability of visual compositions to represent verbal content offers a tangible or readable dimension. Clarke, who has previously collaborated with composers and writers in response to his photographs, now invites a composer and visual artist to draw inspiration from the paintings central to his current project.

Venue address: 2/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

The University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong is delighted to announce Perckhammer’s Peking: A Photographic Documentation of China’s Capital City in the 1920s, an exhibition of work by Heinz von Perckhammer (1895–1965). A prominent South-Tyrolean photographer and photojournalist, who grew up in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Perckhammer travelled to various regions of China and documented daily life, rituals and architecture in images that display a Westerner’s curiosity for Chinese customs and culture. Today, the illustrations in Perckhammer’s publication are of great historical value since they document the beginnings of China’s modernisation and social change in Beijing during the early years of the Republic. For the aspiring photojournalist, the 1920s presented an era of transformation and the fifteen hundred photographs taken by Perckhammer constitute an archive of extraordinary scope and diverse subject matter. Although the publication includes only 200 images, Peking offers a compelling account of the artist’s fascination with various subjects, such as the Imperial Palace, religious architecture, city views, street scenes and glimpses of daily life. These subjects fascinated the artist and drove him to document his experiences.

Venue address: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

The University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, is honoured to present Japanese Printmakers of the Twentieth-Century Renaissance: Kurosaki Akira and Nakabayashi Tadayoshi. The exhibition highlights two of Japan’s most remarkable printmakers and their influence on a resurgence of printmaking in Japan. This cultural phenomenon grew as the artists underwent rigorous training while maintaining a robust interest in traditional printing methods, such as the world-renowned woodblock technique. Through their innovative experimentation, the two printers spearheaded a revival that further developed and expanded upon established printing techniques.

The unusual juxtaposition of two contemporary artists emphasises both Kurosaki and Nakabayashi’s masterpieces and their individual contributions to the ongoing development of Japanese printmaking. This pairing also highlights the distinctiveness, cultural relevance and novelty of their work. Both born in 1937 and similarly trained, Kurosaki and Nakabayashi pursued different topics and employed distinctive colour palettes. Despite these differences, they both excelled at abstract artmaking and are celebrated for their masterful storytelling.

Venue address: 1/F, T. T. Tsui Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

The University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, is honoured to present Sketching His Land and People: The Drawings of Eddie Chau, a retrospective exhibition of the late artist’s work.

Eddie Chau (1945–2020) was a Chinese painter born in Indonesia who made Hong Kong his home in 1992. Having taken art lessons in high school in Bandung, Indonesia, and receiving artistic mentoring from the painter Jiang Yudi, his training as a painter was primarily self-taught, relying on disciplined practice and the ability to see—and make others see—the beauty in life.

A talented water-colourist, Chau’s skill in depicting the lush natural environment was first recorded in the landscape paintings he executed as a young adult in the mid-1960s in Indonesia. Documenting the rural environment in and around Bandung, his work is exemplary in terms of his attention to detail and the colour palette employed to render the village scenes in a warm light. His naturalistic style gives Chau’s paintings a sincerity that is at once honest and beautiful.

Venue address: 1/F & 2/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

The University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong is honoured to present Abstract Evolutions: Sixty Years of Paintings by Fong Chung-Ray. The significance of Fong Chung-Ray’s artistic oeuvre lies in his contribution both to the global art scene and the representation of Chinese artistic traditions in late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century California. As an ambassador for art, he has played a crucial role in fostering cultural exchange between China and the West, and his artworks have introduced richly diverse artistic traditions, techniques and themes to international audiences, promoting a deeper understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture.

Fong was born in Henan province. He received his formal art training at the Political Cadre College in Taiwan and graduated in 1954. He developed his style while living and practicing in California. Most of his works are abstract paintings that blend influences from Chinese and Western artistic traditions, creating a unique form of cross-cultural expression. His works serve as a bridge between Eastern and Western art, incorporating elements from both traditions and fostering dialogue between various artistic perspectives. In so doing, he contributes to artistic innovation by bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas to the global art scene.

Venue address: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

The exhibition "Momentous Mountains: The Artistic, Philosophical and Cultural Engagement with Chinese Landscape Painting" invites visitors to immerse themselves in the captivating world of Chinese landscape paintings from the collection of the University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), The University of Hong Kong. This series of paintings spans from the early Qing dynasty (17th century) to contemporary times. The represented artists come from diverse backgrounds and employ various approaches to landscape art. They attest to the interdisciplinary nature and cross-cultural aspect of Chinese landscape painting, reflecting the influence of d schools, painting traditions and regional styles. The exhibition presents the depth and virtuosity of the development of Chinese landscape paintings, extending from the orthodox Four Wang Masters of the early Qing, the Nanjing School, the Jiangxi School and the Shanghai School of Chinese paintings. Rarely displayed in public, the paintings include iconic works by renowned masters and influential art educators, such as Liu Haisu (1896-1994), Fang Zhaoling (1914–2006), Wan Qingli (1945–2017) and Wesley Tongson (1957-2012)—outstanding contemporary artists who trained in the leading Eastern and Western art academies.

Venue address: The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Lung Fu Shan

The University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong is delighted to present Kings’ Inscriptions · Contemporary Interpretations, an unprecedented exhibition of calligraphic texts and their rubbings that juxtaposes historic and contemporary artworks. In Chinese history, inscriptions in stone, along with written copies and rubbings made to disseminate their meanings, frequently referred to the qualities and actions of kings. In our contemporary era, it is the work of self-proclaimed kings, such as the King of Kowloon and Frog King, among others, that captures our imagination.

The exhibition is intended to be both academic and playful. It emphasises the lasting significance of the written word, showcases the historic occurrences of important calligraphic texts and highlights the innovative contemporary use of Chinese characters to convey traditional values, cultural phenomena and personal expressions. The selection of artworks highlights various media, including the display of rubbings on stone, calligraphic works on paper and the incorporation of script on ceramics. Additionally, the contemporary art installations serve as carriers of both text and meaning.

Participating artists
Kwok Mang Ho
Lee Wing Ki
Prof. Lee Yun Woon
Prof. Leong Lampo
Dr Leung Kwan Kiu
Tso Cheuk Yim
Yeung Yuk Kan

Venue address: 1/F & 2/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG) of the University of Hong Kong, is thrilled to present Alberto Reguera: Homage to Aert van der Neer. Dazzled by the twilight of 17th-century painter Aert van der Neer’s (1603–77) Moonlit Landscape with a Road beside a Canal (1645–50), contemporary Spanish artist Alberto Reguera created a new series of paintings as an homage to the celebrated artist of the Dutch Golden Age. Each of Reguera’s paintings display an in-depth study of the representation of light and sky in the European tradition of painting, while engaging in a dialogue with Van der Neer’s Moonlit Landscape.

Aert van der Neer’s works exemplify the naturalistic renderings that are now recognised as one of the hallmarks of Dutch painting. Dating to the most productive period of the artist’s life (1640–60), aspects of this scene are typical for Van der Neer and his contemporaries, while the artist’s specific manipulation of twilight seeping through the clouds sets the work apart from other painters of his era.

The sensitive depiction of light in the night sky most inspired Alberto Reguera, in part because of the similarities to his own work. These new works examine and connect directly to Van der Neer’s masterpiece, and the important painterly achievements of the Dutch painter’s generation. While the Golden Age landscapes have been widely discussed and imitated over the past three centuries, it is Reguera’s particularly intense form of study and thoughtful application of style that has culminated in these highly personal and accomplished works. Reguera’s own depictions of the sky—both day and night—inevitably differ from the Dutch master, as Reguera incorporates his own sensibilities and experiences from throughout his internationally renowned career.

Gallery address: 1/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfula

The University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, is thrilled to present Past and Present: Paintings by Brian Tilbrook, a retrospective exhibition of artworks by the renowned Hong Kong artist. Born in England in 1932, and residing in Hong Kong since 1965, Tilbrook is recognised first and foremost for the naturalistic paintings of historical buildings and antiquities in Hong Kong that he executed in the 1980s, as well as for his more recent abstract compositions.

Collected for years by such local stalwarts as Hongkong Land, Swire Group and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Tilbrook has fulfilled commissions of expansive mural paintings that count among Hong Kong’s most recognisably abstract artworks. Visually appealing, the subject matter of his more recent works often engages with global geopolitical issues, such as climate change, as a way to express his sense of concern. Tilbrook, a former head of the art department at the South Island School, has given purpose to his art by documenting local heritage buildings and by bringing awareness to ongoing global affairs.

Venue address: 1+2/F Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Rd, Pokfulam

Chinese reverse glass paintings have rarely been displayed in museums and few studies have considered their compositional elements and iconographic themes. Surviving eighteenth century paintings were often created for the export market and catered to the taste of western patrons in Europe and North America. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the production of reverse paintings became much more locally focused, with artists creating scenes filled with auspicious symbols and literary references that merchants sold mainly within China.

The subject matter of the current exhibition is the large and multifaceted phenomenon of the more indigenous paintings rendered in finely executed detail. Thanks to the fruitful collaboration with the Mei Lin Collection, we have been able to assemble a group of late Qing dynasty and early Republican period paintings. Some of these images are styled as mirrors and mounted as pocket mirrors or table screens that depict scenes from mythology or popular literature, auspicious objects, or portraits of women and children, as well as ‘reflected beauties’ in both intimate and larger sizes.

Venue address: 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

Pre-dating the Neolithic period, ceramic wares are some of the earliest man-made objects to integrate science, technology and the arts. A close examination of ceramics can reveal the creative advances of individuals in various cultures and time periods, and reflect a society’s broader development and technical progress. 

With a long history of innovation and craftsmanship, celadon wares have provided a crucial reference point for the study of ceramic production in China. The term ‘celadon’ historically refers to specific types of ceramics coated with a green-coloured glaze. 

Constant advances in raw material selection, firing techniques and the shaping of forms have enabled celadon ceramics to develop continuously over the past two millennia. The UMAG collection of celadon spans a period of more than fifteen hundred years of celadon’s history, from the early lead-glazed pottery of the Han (202 BCE–220 CE) to the stunning Guan wares of the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE), providing a rich overview of the traditions and transitions of these widely-coveted objects.

Gallery address: G/F, Study Gallery, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam