Celebrating Asian Art

April 15-July 16, 2023

Lui Shou-Kwan 吕寿琨 (1919–1975) was one of the pioneers of the New Ink painting movement, which aimed to modernize traditional Chinese ink painting in Hong Kong in the 1950s–1970s. Lui had extensive training in various traditional styles, including calligraphy and landscape painting, where the emphasis is on copying a master’s work. Moving to Hong Kong in 1948 when it was a British colony (which it remained until 1997), Lui also had exposure to Western modern art, including Abstract Expressionism. He came to believe that an artist should not merely copy an established style but should express themselves and develop their own unique approach to art. Beginning in the late 1950s, Lui combined calligraphic brushwork with a modernist sensibility, creating a style characterized by spontaneous playfulness and splashing brushwork. Later, inspired by his experience with Buddhist meditation and Daoist philosophy, he began to experiment with abstraction and created his Zen paintings. By the 1970s, his innovative visual vocabulary had helped spark an international interest in Chinese traditions of ink painting and its contemporary interpretations. Both through his role and work in the New Ink movement and as a sought-after educator, Lui was extremely influential on the generation of artists who followed.

Jointly organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the exhibition is curated by Tao Wang, Pritzker Chair of Asian art, curator of Chinese art, and executive director of initiatives in Asia, and Josh Yiu, director, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Sponsors
Support for Ink Play: Paintings by Lui Shou-Kwan is provided by Alisan Fine Arts, American Friends of the Shanghai Museum, the family of Lui Shou-Kwan, Lawrence Chu, Whang Shang Ying, and Jerry Yang.

To view the exhibition, click here.

April 22–July 9, 2023

The artful display of flowers in Japanese culture known as ikebana (ike means “to arrange,” and bana or hana means “flowers”) likely originated with arrangements dedicated to Buddhist deities in temples, where the presentations sought to capture the beauty of paradise.

Japan’s first formal school of flower arranging developed in the 15th century, and ikebana remains a prominent and disciplined manifestation of a larger focus on nature in Japanese culture. The practice emphasizes the lines formed by the placement of the leaves, branches, and twigs and, when successful, conveys a sense of harmony among the plants, their vessels, and their settings.

The prints in this presentation largely date to the Edo period (1615–1868), when an intense interest in botany flourished hand-in-hand with ikebana at all levels of society. The arrangements shown are formal and informal, ordinary, and fantastic. What they share is an appreciation for natural beauty often overlooked in everyday life.