In conjunction with the Society’s trip to Seoul, Korea in October, we have invited both resource persons, Corrin Chan and Kathy Park to talk about the highlights as well as the cultural and historical background of the places that we will visit in Korea. We will see the modern face of Seoul in terms of her art and architecture, understand how the city looks at her past for inspiration to her future, and also appreciate how staying at the Buddhist temple quiets the soul to balance the fast and buzzling lifestyle of this modern city.
Hong Kong architect Corrin Chan, who graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at HKU, continued further studies at Columbia University in New York, where she obtained her Master of Architecture. A recipient of the Asian Cultural Council Grant and the Walter Gropius Medal, she has been responsible for organizing many architectural forums, exhibitions and competitions.
Design consultant and practicing Zen Buddhist Kathy Park started life in Turkey, where she might have been one of the few Korean babies born in Ankara that year. She has lived and traveled the world since, always keen to return to the land of her ancestors, while fully committed to share Korean art and culture with the rest of the world.
Do join this interesting lecture and discover the culturally diverse and fascinating facets of Korea.
Have you ever dreamed of creating and publishing your own book? Join the tour to Asia One Printing Limited to discover how a truly integrated communications company can help you fulfill this dream easily, from conception to completion, in this one-stop shop.
Founded in 1979 with 12 staff in an office-cum-factory space of 7000 square feet, Asia One has expanded and presently employs 300 staff in facilities that include a 14-storey building. It is one of the most active independent art publishers in Hong Kong with over 12 publications per year and is recognized highly as a top-notch printing and publishing company by both clients and peers. Asia One keenly supports visual arts in the community and is the sponsor of the Museum Society’s bi-monthly newsletter, MVSEnews, and annual reports for many years.
Peter Lau is the Managing Director of Asia One Communication Group that consists of nine subsidiary companies. He will give a brief overview of the individual businesses and demonstrate how each unit contributes to a successful publishing project. Peter will provide a short tour of the production facilities in the Asia One Tower and illustrate how the company’s standard publishing model helps clients fulfill their publishing dreams in Hong Kong.
Many members may be acquainted with Peter and his wife, Catherine, from past trips and activities. An avid photographer and sailor as well as a rare book and art collector, Peter will invite us to his office to see his collection of rare books, including some on photography and Chinese junks. We shall come to appreciate the quality and value of fine books. Afterward, there will be an option to enjoy lunch with Peter at Tapeo, a sumptuous Spanish restaurant nearby.
The Min Chiu Society was founded in 1960 by a group of private collectors dedicated to the connoisseurship of Chinese antiquities and paintings. Over the years, they have promoted the appreciation of Chinese art to the general public through academic exchanges and regular exhibitions. To commemorate their 50th Anniversary, Min Chiu Society will present an exhibition to showcase over 300 pieces from their members’ private collections, representing the cream of Chinese art and culture. The exhibits, spanning from Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty, will include Chinese paintings, ceramics, jade carvings and ornaments, bronze wares, lacquer, glass, ivory, bamboo and furniture.
We shall be guided by Benjamin W. Yim, an independent researcher, connoisseur and collector of Chinese art. He has been actively engaged in this field, especially in ceramics, lacquer and other works of art for twenty years. His keen interest in Chinese ceramics led him to an apprenticeship since 1999 with China's foremost ceramic expert, Professor Geng Baochang of The Palace Museum in Beijing. Yim is a member of the Min Chiu Society; an honorary advisor of the University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong; a member of the Chinese Society of Ancient Ceramics in Beijing; and a former committee member of The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong.
He holds a position in the selection committee for this special Min Chiu Society's Golden Jubilee Exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. In 2009, he participated and helped to organize the exhibition The Fame of Flame – Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli Periods at UMAG, and subsequently served as one of the editors of its exhibition catalogue.
A special preview and meeting will be held for our members with HK artist Fung Ming Chip (馮明秋) at the Sin Sin Annex in Central. This exhibition will showcase Fung's innovative seal-carving works and works of his extra-ordinary calligraphy script styles.
Born in Guangdong, China in 1951, Fung moved to Hong Kong in 1955 and to New York in 1977. He started his visual art career as a sculptor but soon shifted focus to seal-carving which transcended to Chinese calligraphy. Through re-arranging the brush strokes of Chinese characters and emphasis on phrases, he created a script of his own to redefine the ancient Chinese art of calligraphy into a contemporary art form.
Fung's artistic life itself is very impressive. With only a primary school education, his talent ignited the interest of Cambridge University, UK and was invited to be their artist-in-residence in 2004. Most recently, Fung has been invited to participate in the academic forum at the Hangzhou Academy of Fine Art, together with many renowned scholars.
The distinctive style of his artworks has also aroused the interest of luxury fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and Hermes. He collaborated with Louis Vuitton for their one-of-a-kind "Malle Cabine" trunk. In 2008, Hermes invited Fung to create an 18-piece china collection "Les Poemes du Mandarin" used in the Krug Room of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Since 1986, he has been traveling around New York, Hong Kong and China. His works are included in major collections by private collectors and public institutions world-wide.
Hong Kong painter and ceramic artist, Terence Lee graduated from California College of Art and Crafts with a major in contemporary ceramics and painting. After returning to Hong Kong in 1984, he began to teach painting and ceramics in his studio and other art faculties, including HK Art Centre, Chinese University and HKU SPACE. He has conducted solo and group exhibitions both in Hong Kong and overseas.
To pursue his interest in Chinese Song ceramics, he traveled widely to China where he collected sherds at various old kiln sites and experimented with the production of ceramics using a traditional 55 meter-long dragon kiln. His works, embracing both traditional and contemporary techniques and styles, are collected by museums in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Gitone is Terence's studio and gallery where he also conducts painting and ceramic classes for adults and children during the day. In the evening, it transforms into an elegant restaurant for private dining with home-style cooking served in exquisite utensils that are unique pieces of art beautifully handmade by Terence and others.
This special summer gathering will begin with an optional workshop where Terence will talk about over-glaze painting and guide participants through the process of designing and putting their creative designs onto ceramic plates. After the workshop, everyone will feast on Gitone's Summer Special menu that includes its signature dish – Stewed Pig's Trotter. At the end of dinner, everyone is welcome to stay and enjoy the summer evening with music to sing and dance into the night.
How do you pack a person's life and accomplishments into a five minute video? 'This was the challenge that documentary filmmaker Nancy M. Tong faced when commissioned by New York's Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA, designed by renowned artist/designer Maya Lin) to produce documentary videos on several Chinese Americans whose lives exemplified certain periods of American history. 'Working with famous writers and playwrights, Tong constructed ten videos in first person narrative which weaved together archival films from the Library of Congress and other sources. 'Through sample screening of some of these documentaries, we can come to appreciate this powerful media art, not only as an art form, but also as a historical, educational, social, political tool to convey or preserve ideas, and to even make a difference in the society.
Nancy will share with us the production process as well as the satisfaction and frustration in making documentary videos, in particular, her interesting experiences when she taught some Muslim women to make documentary films in Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Nancy Tong is currently'a Visiting Associate Professor at HKU's Journalism and Media Studies Centre. However, back home, she produces and directs'documentary films in New York. 'Her films cover various subject matters on history, arts and culture.'
'Life is an Entrepreneurial Journey and we are the Entrepreneurs of our lives because we are the first ones to live our lives. I have always believed in the Science of Life Management and the Art of Designing My Life.'
Based on this principle, our speaker, Po Chung (OBE, SBS, JP) will share key cross-over ideas which he has taken from art into the understanding, designing, creating and operating of his entrepreneurial life.
Chung is a successful entrepreneur and an accomplished artist. Since his retirement from DHL that he co-founded, Chung has devoted his time to community services for the development of arts and culture, management and general education, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation in Hong Kong. His service commitment has been recognized with numerous awards over the years including an OBE in 1995, a Silver Bauhinia Star in 2002 and a Honorary University Fellowship from the University of Hong Kong in 2008. His latest and probably most ambitious project is to organize the freshman liberal arts curriculum when the eight universities in Hong Kong convert from a 3-year to a 4-year undergraduate system in 2012.
Retirement has allowed Chung to refine the process for understanding, designing and managing life. To raise the consciousness and help others explore new life purpose, he founded The Good Life Initiative Foundation. In January 2009, he published his first book, The First 10 Yards – The 5 Dynamics of Entrepreneurship and How They Made a Difference at DHL and Other Successful Startups. As he continues to shape and train the next generation with a winning edge outlook, he poses these for us to contemplate –
"Architect Thinking, Innovation, Passion, Paint Your Story Board, What is your song? "
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).
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.
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.
