Hong Kong in Ink and Colour: Contemporary Chinese Paintings from the University Museum's Collection

The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG) is pleased to present Hong Kong in Ink and Colour, a half-century survey of Chinese paintings from the museum's collection from June 28 to August 27, 2017, with a focus on local artists and their visual testimony of the development of the Fragrant Harbour. All of the selected artworks count among the numerous recent acquisitions received by our institution. They tell the story of the university’s interest in collecting and documenting Hong Kong painters and their work, as well as the story of our community of artists and friends who have donated and thereby contributed to our continued growth.

Hong Kong’s steady development is mirrored at the University Museum by our collection of Hong Kong art, and this exhibition exemplifies the fascination of local artists with the ever-changing landscapes and seascapes. Furthermore, the variety of media employed—ink, watercolour and oil—to highlights the individual talents and interest in exploring various techniques, and then utilising their properties to best record lifelike and abstract depictions.

Over the years documented by our selection of paintings, Hong Kong has grown into a celebrated international art scene. Many of the artists exhibited in the UMAG collection have contributed to the development of local culture and to the training of aspiring students in Hong Kong and abroad. At the same time their artworks exemplify the materials, techniques and stylistic features that are receptive of, as well as influential in, a diversity of artistic environments.