Perched up on the Peak with a spectacular view of the harbour is Victoria House, a 1950s colonial architecture, which is home to the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong for the past half a century. Mrs. Lisa Tang, an ardent supporter of the arts, has graciously consented to open her home for our talk on 'Women Collectors' with an afternoon tea for our members. Come and enjoy a luxurious and leisurely Sunday afternoon with family and friends!
Our guest speaker, Catherine Maudsley will give a talk on 5 great women collectors, namely, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Helena Rubinstein, Peggy Guggenheim, Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton, all shared a deep passion for art and collecting. While their collections of Western art are well known, little is known of their interests in Asian, Islamic and African art. This lecture examines how these interests grew and evaluates the legacies of their collections.
Maudsley was educated in Canada, USA, Beijing, Hong Kong and Kyoto and holds MA and MPhil degrees in fine arts and religion. The recipient of numerous scholarly awards and research fellowships, Catherine has been a guest lecturer to over 30 organizations, including Sotheby's Institute of Arts as well as global forums.
Synopsis:
Ten years after Dr. Sun Yat-sen was identified as a gemingzhe (revolutionary), three young artists who became the torch-bearers of the Lingnan School of painting came out in support of Sun and his Revolutionary League (Tongmeng Hui). A few years later, on the eve of the May Fourth Movement of 1919, the journal New Youth raised the question of a revolution in art and the editor published a reply to illustrate how artists could go about making revolution. May Fourth could be described as the beginnings of a cultural revolution in China that reached a painful climax more than fifty years later when a lot of art throughout the country was destroyed.
However, before the 1980s, the revolution in art itself did not get far except in urging artists to do more to serve the poor and dispossessed and also the new political classes. On the other hand, the idea of modern revolution was applied systematically to changing the way Chinese history has been presented and the results remain influential in China today.
About the Speaker:
Professor Wang Gungwu, CBE, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995, is currently the University Professor at the National University of Singapore and Emeritus Professor of the Australian National University. He has received Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Cambridge, Hong Kong, Melbourne, ANU, Sydney, Monash, Griffith, and Hull, as well as Honorary Member of many academic institutions worldwide.
Among his numerous publications, some recent ones are: “The Chinese Overseas: From Earthbound China to the Quest for Autonomy” (2000); “Don’t Leave Home: Migration and the Chinese” (2001); “海外華人研究的大視野與新方向：王賡武教授文集” (New Directions in Overseas Chinese Research, 2002); “Anglo-Chinese Encounters since 1800: War, Trade, Science and Governance” (2003); “Diasporic Chinese Ventures Edited by Gregor Benton and Liu Hong” (2004); “移民及興起的中國” (Migrants and China’s Rise); “離鄉別士：境外看中華” (China from the Periphery, 2007).
At stop press, we do not have information yet regarding the highlights of this auction. However, we are able to schedule a guided tour with two of Christie's Asian arts specialists, Rosemary Scott and Pola Antebi to view the major exhibits and discuss the works on display.
Rosemary Scott is the International Academic Director of Christie's Asian Art Department. Before joining Christie's, she was Curator of the Percival David Foundation and Head of the Museums Department of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Prior to this, she was Deputy Keeper of the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, responsible for the Oriental Art collections. Scott currently serves as the President of the London Oriental Ceramic Society.
Pola Antebi is the Head of the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Department in Hong Kong, which under her leadership has grown exponentially. She also supports Christie's sales in London, New York and Paris. Her areas of expertise include Imperial ceramics, jades and works of art from the Yuan to the Qing periods. She holds degrees in French Literature and Art History from the University of Vermont in the United States.
Back for its third year, Art HK 2010 will be held from 27 to 30 May 2010 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The Hong Kong International Art Fair is the leading platform for international modern & contemporary art in Asia. This year, Art HK 2010 will welcome over 140 galleries from 28 countries. Since its inception in 2008, The Hong Kong International Art Fair has attracted and welcomed art connoisseurs, artists and visitors worldwide.
Leading galleries such as Gagosian, Lisson Gallery & White Cube are returning again this year. The Fair will also showcase diverse solo presentations of several of the world's most respected contemporary artists. Highlights include Chinese artist Liu Ye for Sperone Westwater, Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara for Marianne Boesky, Aya Takano for Emmanuel Perrotin and the acclaimed Glasgow artist Jim Lambie for the Modern Institute. Following its debut at the 2009 Fair, the Art Futures section is again dedicated to showcasing the works of emerging artists from new galleries opened within the last five years, providing a unique opportunity for visitors to experience the latest developments in cutting-edge art.
(For the latest updates, please visit http://www.hongkongartfair.com/eng/welcome/)
Do join Vanessa Wong for this guided tour and visit seven selected galleries to view some of the highlights of this year's Fair.
Synopsis:
This talk examines the representation of families in Impressionism. It first explains why family ties became so important in the formation of modern identity in France in the late 19th century. Drawing on comparisons with photographic family portraits from the time, it then reveals how Impressionist imagery created a new, modern model of the nuclear family as a secular community celebrating individualism and egalitarianism. The talk looks in detail at family images by four Impressionist painters ' Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot ' to see how they interpreted their own family relations in very different and sometimes surprising ways.
Speaker:
Greg Thomas holds a Ph.D. in Art History from Harvard University and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Arts at The University of Hong Kong. A specialist in 19th-century French art, he has published "Art and Ecology in 19th-Century France: The Landscapes of Th'odore Rousseau" (Princeton University Press, 2000) and will soon publish a new book, entitled "Impressionist Children: Childhood, Family, and Modern Identity in French Art", with Yale University Press. Dr. Thomas has also lectured and published on European interactions with China and is the assistant editor of the 13-volume "Wuming (No Name) Painting Catalogue", recently published by The Hong Kong University Press.
Award winning architect and interior designer Gary Chang is famous for Curio-Box, his 32 square metre apartment which has been featured in the New York Times for its 24-fold transformations according to changing needs and functions. The clever design is based on the notions of Change, Choice, Co-Existence and Connectivity which are the parameters of new urban dynamics and compact living, blurring the boundaries between the building envelopes and the furniture.
Chang's other famous designs include the Suitcase House in the Great Wall Commune, Beijing; Kung Fun Tea Set by Alessi; Broadway Cinematheque; The Organic Pharmacy and many others. He has participated in major international biennial and triennial exhibitions and won numerous prestigious awards in architecture, interior and product designs. Gary graduated from The University of Hong Kong in 1987 with a degree in Architecture.
Due to the small size of the Curio-Box, participants will be divided into two groups: group one will visit the HK Film Archive while group two visits Curio-Box, and then vice versa. Afterward, we shall enjoy lunch with Gary for further design inspirations.
Come and see how tight space is ingeniously designed to the extreme!
Central Honshu, known also as Chubu region, is significant in the development of Japanese politics, religions and society from the Kamakura era (1192-1333) to Meiji restoration (1868). Kamakura period is the most exciting period in the development of Japanese Buddhism through very powerful aristocratic patronage and the transmission of Song and Yuan Buddhism from China. This period witnessed the beginning of Zen Buddhism in Japan with two imported schools from China flourishing around the two founders ~ Eisai (1141-1215) of the Rinzaishu and Dogen (1200-1253) of the Sotoshu.
This study tour will cover the major temples and monasteries of Zen Buddhism between Fukui and Kamakura and explore the relationship between Zen ideals, art and architecture and the stunning natural landscape. The program will also include other well-preserved ancient monuments, including a castle ~ Matsumoto Castle; a garden ~ Kenrokuen; a town ~ Kanazawa and a unique village ~ Suganuma in Gokayama. In addition, the modern architecture of Tadao Ando, Kazuyo Sejima, Kengo Kuma and Toyo Ito will be visited in order to experience the expression of Zen spirit in these contemporary buildings.
Dr. Puay-peng Ho is Professor and Director of the School of Architecture and Director of the Centre for Architectural Heritage Research at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received his First Class Honours degree in Architecture from the University of Edinburgh and a Ph.D. in Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His thesis was focused on Buddhist art and architecture of the Tang dynasty.
The tour is fully subscribed due to the overwhelming response from members to the trip announcement last December.
Chu Teh-Chun is a prolific Chinese painter who graduated from Hangzhou National Art College but has lived in France most of his life. His works combine the East and West, traditional and contemporary, the poetic graces and the emotive mysteries. At 90 years of age, Chu is highly respected in the international art arena and was awarded the honour of Academician by the Institut de France.
Chu is famous not only for his abstract paintings in oil on canvas and ink on paper, but also for his series of painted porcelains, Of Snow, Gold and Sky Blue. This series was inspired by a high mountain drive in winter and was subsequently produced at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres near Paris between 2007-2009. The abstracted landscapes were expressed through dots and drips of pure white, along with scattered patches of colors in blue, grey, black, brown and gold on white luminous porcelains. These unique compositions encapsulate a vision that leads toward a philosophical path to the mind. The porcelains have been exhibited at the Guimet Asian Art Museum in Paris and Beijing’s National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) before coming to UMAG. We will be guided by international art consultant Philippe Koutouzis, who has curated major exhibitions at Musee Guimet, Taipei’s Fine Arts Museum, NAMOC and London’s Malborough Gallery. Philippe is a regular contributor to various art publications and a feature speaker for Sotheby’s and Christie’s. He is Managing Director of FEASTS projects in both Manhattan and Hong Kong and an advisor to a number of banks on art investments and art funds.
There will be a special guided tour of Forces of Nature, an exhibition of works by five of Hong Kong’s most prominent sculptors, some of whom will be on hand to visit with us. The show’s “nature” theme is expressed either through the medium chosen – metal, earth, bamboo, or an idea explored – rocks, clouds and seeds.
Sculptors: Kum Chi Keung (甘志強) makes social commentary with his inventive bamboo installations; Tony Ng (吳觀麟) explores cloud imagery; Mok Yat-san (莫一新) translates mountains into metal; Man Fung-yi (文鳳儀) balances the fragility of seeds and pods with the strength of brass and steel; and ceramist Caroline Cheng (鄭褘) uses clay to fashion amazing garments. You’ll find humour, beauty and thought-provoking ideas in the creative expressions of these five artists.
Sponsored by Hongkong Land and organized with the assistance of Sandra Walters Consultancy Ltd., this show will be exhibited at the Rotunda in Exchange Square from 19 to 29 April 2010.
As a lifestyle creator, Sin Sin observes the world through the eyes of art. She started her creative career in 1984 and opened her Atelier in Central, Hong Kong in 1998, which features unique bags in playful shapes, ladies wear crafted with exclusive fabrics, and jewellery in sterling silver and semi-precious stones. A special source of inspiration is her love for fabrics and unique antiquities. Her works are rooted in oriental values with often a mix of influences from the West.
Sin Sin is dedicated to creating a lifestyle where art inspires daily life, and vice versa. Based on this philosophy, Sin Sin opened her Fine Art Gallery to showcase international and local artists with an emphasis in Indonesian art, and at the same time to promote upcoming talents from Hong Kong, China, Southeast Asia, Europe and US. The main gallery is located at Princes Terrace, with an intimate exhibition space displaying modern and contemporary paintings, prints (etchings and lithographs), photographs and sculptures alongside a library of art and artist catalogues. Sin Sin Annex is a sister gallery with an alternative space showcasing objet d'art, art installations as well as performance art. With her spiritual attachment to Bali, Sin Sin has also built three exclusive villas there for visitors to experience first hand, her way of sensuous living.
During this morning's visit, Sin Sin will speak about her world of art and her passion for living. We will tour Sin Sin's Atelier and Annex, and the Sin Sin Fine Art Gallery to view and appreciate the eclectic collection of fashion, jewellery and artworks through the artistic eyes of its creative director.
