Guided Viewing of 3 Exhibitions: “Zhao Hai Tien - Cultivation: 50 Years of Painting”; “Japanese Jewels: Imperial Silver Bonbonnières” and “Handmade and Handheld: Song to Qing Dynasty Chinese Bronzes for the Scholar’s Studio” at UMAG
The HKU Museum Society is pleased to present a guided viewing of “Zhao Hai Tien—Cultivation: 50 Years of Painting”; “Japanese Jewels: Imperial Silver Bonbonnières” and “Handmade and Handheld Song to Qing Dynasty Chinese Bronzes for the Scholar’s Studio” with the artist Zhou Hai Tien and Dr. Florian Knothe at UMAG.
Zhao Hai Tien—Cultivation: 50 Years of Painting, an exhibition showcasing Zhao Hai Tien’s artistic journey as a painter and her boundless explorations as a Hong Kong artist, both locally and internationally. Her work is distinguished by a poignant confluence of abstract expression, spiritual depth, and cross-cultural dialogue. From her early New York-inflected abstractions to the later meditative, calligraphic, and cosmic visual language, she has consistently infused her practice with vitality, reflection, and resilience—an enduring testament to her inquiry into identity, spirituality, and the cosmos.
Born in Shanghai in 1945, Zhao Hai Tien emerged as a pioneering figure in modern Chinese art and was among the few of her generation to train overseas before China’s opening in 1979. She completed her early studies in Shanghai and Hong Kong, before moving to New York, where she earned a BFA from Cooper Union in 1969. Immersed in the dynamic New York art scene of the 1960s, she began experimenting with abstraction, transforming her artistic language in bold and innovative ways. Zhao Hai Tien’s artistic evolution and creative explorations are characterised by a remarkable diversity of media—from airbrush and automotive spray paint on wooden folded screens and acrylic on canvas to calligraphic experiments, large-scale public murals, and oil paintings. Her practice blends technical precision with expressive freedom, deeply informed by spiritual traditions.
Now in her eighties, Hai Tien continues to paint with unwavering dedication, extending her artistic vision into both scientific and spiritual realms. Today, after five decades of artistic cultivation, Zhao Hai Tien stands as an important and influential figure, embodying a generation of Chinese artists who have navigated the intersections of Eastern tradition and Western modernity. Zhao Hai Tien reminds us that true artistry transcends age.
https://umag.hku.hk/exhibition/zhao-hai-tien-cultivation-50-years-of-painting/
Japanese Jewels: Imperial Silver Bonbonnières, an exhibition of precious boxes that illustrate a well-documented tradition in Japan, which rose to prominence during the Meiji era and became formalised in imperial ceremonies. These containers, often made from pure silver and adorned with gold inlays and enamel, regularly display motifs that symbolise auspicious elements such as longevity, prosperity, and harmony. The story of Japanese imperial bonbonnières is a story of both creation and reception—of the master artisans who made them and the carefully selected recipients who received them. Makers like Kobayashi, Miyamoto, or Muramatsu upheld court traditions through exacting craftsmanship, while recipients, from nobles to foreign envoys, engaged in a socially meaningful system of imperial recognition.
All silver boxes on display are part of the Nancy and Robin Markbreiter Collection. This exhibition has been made possible through their generous support and the patronage of the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong.
https://umag.hku.hk/exhibition/japanese-jewels-imperial-silver-bonbonnieres/
Handmade and Handheld: Song to Qing Dynasty Chinese Bronzes for the Scholar’s Studio. The eighty-seven objects illustrate a remarkable cultural continuum that links ancient ritual traditions to a sophisticated literati aesthetic and intellectual life. These bronzes, having transcended their original ritual functions, became prized art objects, instruments of scholarly inquiry, and emblems of moral and political values. Their diverse forms—from ritual vessels to intimate incense burners and scholarly desk pieces—reflect the deep integration of bronze into the fabric of imperial and literati culture. In so doing, many of the plants and animals—mythical or real—carry important auspicious meanings that contribute to the learned culture from which they originate. These pieces have been generously loaned by Mr. Paul Bromberg.
Speaker
Dr. Florian Knothe is the Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery and an Associate Professor in the School of Humanities, HKU. He serves as the MA in Museum Studies programme director and has taught Museum Studies at undergraduate and post-graduate level for more than 15 years. Florian trained in conservation, art history and heritage law, and lectures and teaches internationally. With the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, he held a Mellon Foundation grant to investigate and initiate Museum Studies at HKU.
Image Credit: Courtesy of UMAG