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In 1957, when Luis Chan ventured off to explore the pictorial worlds that existed outside the Hong Kong sceneries he was famous for, he definitely did not know how far he had to go before finding shore.
But Luis Chan was well prepared. From his first formal training course in 1927, and his First Prize award from the Hong Kong Art Club in 1934, by 1957 Luis Chan had already presented 14 solo exhibitions and published over a hundred articles on art. The hundreds of Hong Kong sceneries he had painted by then is evidence of how enamoured he was by the views of Hong Kong and the city life enveloping him. This enamoured engagement presents a sense of reality and belonging not often found in pictorial representations, and it anchored the artist’s experimentations till his last.
From the mid 1950s onwards, the new tools with which Luis Chan navigated the pictorial world included well known modernist techniques, and processes he personally developed. But there is a continuity regardless of Luis Chan’s stylistic diversity; even until his last show in 1993, at which his new works were scribblings on art magazine illustrations, was the reality of Hong Kong life and the city seen through the magical lens of Luis Chan’s mind. The magic of the pictorial world beyond was never far from home.
Over the years, Luis Chan’s art and historical significance have gained broad recognition, lately his painting has also entered the Tate Collection, London, UK.
