Duet of Flowers and Birds: Paintings by Chow Kung Lei

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Sun Museum is proud to present its latest exhibition “Duet of Flowers and Birds: Paintings by Chow Kunglei”, featuring the works of Chow Kung Lei, a Hong Kong ink painter and art educator. The exhibition will be running from January 12 – April 6 2023.

Chow Kunglei graduated from the Shanghai Institute of Art in 1926. He was the pupil of the famous Russian painter Victor Stepanowitsch Podgoursky. Majoring in Western painting, he excelled in sketch portraits. On the other hand, Chow studied under famous Chinese painters Wu Changshuo and Li Teifu, and was much influenced by their painting styles. Chow developed his own trend by integrating Chinese and Western painting techniques. With lines and strokes taken from Chinese paintings, and the alternate use of dark and light colours from Western art, Chow created pieces with quick and unrestrained brushstrokes, with a sense of vitality.

With his masterful incorporation of techniques drawn from the crux of different schools of art, Chow’s artistic achievements brought great delight to Wu Changshuo, leading Wu to see Chow as his well-qualified successor. Chow and Zhang Daqian became friends despite their age differences. After a painting session between the two, even Zhang exclaimed, “You are able to reproduce subjects which I am skilled in drawing with an excellent likeness; and yet I am unable to master figure drawings, which are clearly your forte.”

With a wealth of experiences, Chow began making his mark in the art scene when he was young. He was sponsored by the Guangxi government to go on exchange to France, Japan and Europe. Furthermore, his works were selected for the Salon in France and the Imperial Academy art exhibition in Japan. In 1942, he served as the Director of the Guangxi Provincial Art Museum, and held an anti-war art exhibition with Xu Bei Hong. After the war, Chow moved to Hong Kong. Other than local exhibitions, he had art exhibitions in Thailand, Macau, California and Montreal and Toronto in Canada during the 1960s-1980s. His artworks are collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and various museums in California.

Chow was very passionate about art education. During the Japanese invasion of China, he established the Institute of National Arts to promote art and organise charity art exhibitions for disaster relief in Hong Kong. After the war, he established the Kung Lei School of Art, successfully garnering a wealth of students over a few decades. He guided his students using simple brushwork, at the same time encouraged them to develop their own styles. Chow was enthusiastic for art education and firmly believed there should be no discrimination in teaching. Not only did he waive tuition fees for poor students, he also patiently taught deaf students in hopes of nurturing them to make a living as an artist.

Chow enjoyed painting roses and pigeons, and was known as “the King of Roses” and “the Ace of Pigeons”. As an outstanding artist and art educator, he is truly a jewel in Hong Kong art history. Chow passed away in 1989. Sun Museum collaborates with Chow’s student, Leung Kai Wing, to present some 100 works to highlight Chow’s outstanding achievements. The exhibited works include teaching sketches, which demonstrate Chow’s passion for teaching and the precious bond between a teacher and his students.