CityU Gallery is showcasing about 100 pieces of work created by Mr Guan Liang, a contemporary artist renowned for his depiction of characters from Chinese opera. The exhibition, entitled “The Art of Guan Liang”, has been organised by City University of Hong Kong’s Chinese Civilisation Centre (CCIV) and highlights Mr Guan’s colour ink paintings of opera characters while featuring a number of his oil paintings, water colours and sketches.

 

“Guan Liang is a marvel of contemporary Chinese art,” commented Professor Cheng Pei-kai, CCIV Director. “His enthusiasts are dazzled most by his portrayal of Chinese opera characters.” Mr Guan creates the illusion of motion, freezing his dramatic characters at the point of action, giving rise to a sense of performance on stage. The artist focuses in particular on facial expressions and the movement of the eyes to capture the spirit of the Chinese opera characters costumed in ink.

 

Mr Guan’s brushwork is readily identified with the Transfiguration School, a tradition that has been passed down from generations of Chinese portrait painters since the late Ming period. He has also been trained in oil painting, influenced by Japanese protégés of Late Impressionists. His work is recognizable by its unique style, nurtured through Chinese and Western artistic perspectives. More intriguing, his art has an air of Matisse and Picasso’s twists with the austere values immersed in Chinese scholarly tradition. Some of his works on display are The Capture of Shi Wengong (1956), The Jade Bracelet (1962), The Intoxicated Concubine (1979), Monkey King Battling against Evil Spirit, Action Performers (1981), A Bottle of Flowers (1979), Fishing Village at Guangyuan and The Cowherd Couple.

 

Officiating at the opening ceremony on 9 June were Mr Frankie To Wai, Chairman of DAF Enterprise Ltd; Mr Mok E-den, Chairman of Ding Yanyong Society; Ms Chan Kim-sing, Chairperson of The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong; Dr W K Lo, President of Artesyn Technologies Asia-Pacific Ltd; Professor H K Chang, CityU President, and Professor Cheng Pei-kai, CCIV Director. Dr Tong Kin-woon was invited to stage a Qin performance at the ceremony.

Established in 1998, the CCIV offeres a broad variety of coures, seminars, workshops and other innovative activities on Chinese art and culture to help CityU students broaden their intellectual horizons on different subjects and themes of cultural interest, and deepen their understanding of Chinese cultural heritage which has a history of thousands of years.

Aesthetic development, defined as the ability to participate in artistic activities and to appreciate art, beauty and nature, is an integral element of CityU’s Whole Person Development philosophy. The CityU Gallery regularly hosts exhibitions to promote art and culture to University staff, students and the general public.

 

“The Art of Guan Liang” is on display from 10 June to 15 August at the CityU Gallery, located on Level 6 of the University’s Amenities Building. Opening hours are from 10 am to 7 pm every day.