The Art Exhibition of NG Yuet-lau and CHIU Wai-yan Philip

April 14, 2025 Upcoming

Rhythmic Vitality and Benevolent Heart

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Artist |  NG Yuet-lau、CHIU Wai-yan Philip

Curator | WEI Xiangqi

Duration | 2025.04.14—2025.09.15

Venue | Gravity Field Art Gallery, Teaching Complex D101

 

Preface

Lingnan has sparkled like a galaxy in modern art history, from LI Tiefu, "the first Chinese oil painter", to LIN Fengmian, a modern artist who studied in France, and to the "Three Masters of Lingnan"—GAO Jianfu, GAO Qifeng, and CHEN Shuren—who promoted the reform of Chinese painting. The representatives of the "New Woodcut Movement", such as LI Hua, HUANG Xinbo, CHEN Yanqiao, and LAI Shaoqi and others, also made significant contributions. Their artistic ideas and achievements laid the foundation for Lingnan's modern culture of "daring to be the first in the world", which also nourished the pioneering spirit of Shenzhen in the 1980s during the Reform and Opening Up period.

Among them, GAO Jianfu and GAO Qifeng established the Chunshui Painting Academy and Tianfeng Studio in the 1920s, they also trained second-generation painters like GUAN Shanyue, LI Xiongcai, CHAO Shao-an, YANG Shen-sum, and HUANG Shaoqiang in the creation of new Chinese paintings. GUAN Shanyue and LI Xiongcai became representative painters of the new Chinese painting movement of the People's Republic of China, while CHAO Shao-an and YANG Shen-sum settled in Hong Kong and Macau to spread the Lingnan style. By the 1980s, influenced by CHAO Shao-an and YANG Shen-sum, the Lingnan painting style was widely spread in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan Province, and even overseas Chinese communities in North America. Therefore, Lingnan School became an important bridge for cultural exchange between Mainland of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan Province, and overseas Chinese from the 1980s to the 1990s.

NG Yuet-lau moved to Hong Kong in the 1950s and studied under CHAO Shao-an in the early 1970s, becoming the third-generation inheritor of the Lingnan School. Unlike the systematic training in modern art academies, CHAO Shao-an's Lingnan art studio adopted a private-school teaching style where knowledge was imparted with wholehearted dedication. As a result, NG Yuet-lau fully inherited CHAO Shao-an's techniques and brushwork style. She then continuously refined her brush techniques and incorporated her own sketching experience, leading to a profound understanding of artistic creation. This was a process of first immersing herself in learning and then breaking through to develop her own distinctive style, integrating new elements. During this period, NG Yuet-lau also absorbed the traditional brushwork knowledge of HUANG Chun-pik and the new language and forms of ink and colour created by ZHANG Daqian. These influences shaped her innovative personal artistic language and style.

Influenced by his mother from a young age, CHIU Wai-yan Philip has immersed himself in the world of Chinese painting. Compared to his mother's more integrative approach, CHIU Wai-yan Philip emphasizes the origins of brushwork and ink. He focuses on the spiritual essence conveyed through painting, such as the vibrancy of his bird-and-flower paintings and the seclusion in his landscapes, showing complementary aesthetic images. In CHIU Wai-yan Philip's view, both medicine and painting have shaped his inner self, complementing each other and helping him to continue exploring the value and meaning of life.

The theme of this exhibition, "Rhythmic Vitality and Benevolent Heart", encapsulates the creative consciousness of both NG Yuet-lau and her son CHIU Wai-yan Philip. Their art continuously extends within the historical context of Lingnan painting, while also showing how people can achieve self-perfection through artistic creation and a deepened awareness of brushwork language. This allows them to find spiritual refuge between the highly developed modern city and the natural landscape. Throughout her more than fifty-year artistic career, NG Yuet-lau has tirelessly held exhibitions both at home and abroad, promoting Lingnan art, thereby becoming a cultural ambassador linking Mainland of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan Province, and overseas Chinese. Therefore, NG Yuet-lau's position in contemporary Chinese painting history should not only be seen from her artistic achievements but also from her contributions to cultural exchange. CHIU Wai-yan Philip's paintings show the enduring charm of art, inspiring and uplifting the human spirit.

The University Arts Centre of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is dedicated to promoting cultural interaction, exchange, and integration on broader and higher dimensions, facilitating the multidimensional coexistence of tradition and modernity, as well as humanities and social sciences. The paintings of NG Yuet-lau and CHIU Wai-yan Philip show us the dialogue across half a century and demonstrate how painting becomes an ever-flowing source of thought and emotional exchange across generations.

WEI Xiangqi
April 2025

 

About the Artist

NG Yuet-lau

Born in Guiyang, Guizhou in 1943, with ancestral roots in Kaiping, Guangdong. NG Yuet-lau moved to Guangzhou after the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and relocated to Hong Kong in 1959. In 1970, she graduated from the Kwong Wah Hospital Nursing School. Since 1973, she studied Lingnan School painting techniques under Master CHAO Shao-an. From 1978 to 1981, learned landscape painting from Master HUANG Chun-pik. Served as a member of the Shaoguan Municipal CPPCC and the Kaiping Municipal CPPCC. She is a member of the China Artists Association, an Honorary Fellow of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, an Honorary Fellow of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, an Honorary Fellow of S.H. Ho College at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, a council member of the Hong Kong Artists Association, a council member of the Hong Kong Calligraphy, Painting, and Antiques Association, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Lingnan Art Association, Lifetime Professor at Shaoguan University, Honorary Professor and Board Member at Foshan University.

Since 1986, NG Yuet-lau has held solo exhibitions at numerous prestigious domestic and international institutions, including the National Museum Art Gallery in Singapore, the Asian Centre at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, the Chinese Cultural Center in New York, USA, Museum of Chinese Australian History, Melbourne, Australia, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library, Guangdong Art Museum, Peking University Hall, the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, the Tainan Cultural Center, Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen, the Art Museum of China Academy of Art, Shixiang Garden in Guangzhou, Jiangmen Art Museum, Shaoguan University, and the Gravity Field Art Gallery at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. Her works have been collected by esteemed institutions such as The Great Hall of the People, Diaoyutai State Guest House, Jingxi Hotel, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, School of Arts in Peking University, University College Dublin in Ireland, Shenzhen University Library, Shenzhen Museum, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, the Art Museum of China Academy of Art, the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Kaiping Museum of Art, Jiangmen Art Museum, and Shaoguan University. NG Yuet-lau has been recognized with numerous honors, including a Special Commendation from the Canadian Government, selection as one of the "Global 100 Outstanding Chinese" and the title of "Honorary Citizen" of Shaoguan City.

CHIU Wai-yan Philip

CHIU Wai-yan Philip was born in Hong Kong in 1970. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 1994 and obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree in 2009. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Professor of Surgery, Director of the Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center, and Director of the Endoscopy Center at the Institute of Digestive Disease of CUHK.

CHIU Wai-yan Philip was nurtured in a family that valued education and art. He was influenced by his mother, NG Yuet-lau, who inspired his love for Chinese painting from an early age. In 1984, he began studying Lingnan art under Master CHAO Shao-an, focusing on birds, flowers, animals, and insects, and later studied landscape painting under Master KOO Mei. In 1987, he was awarded first championship in the 13th Hong Kong Youth Cultural & Arts Competition (Student Section) and the first runner up of the 14th Hong Kong Youth Cultural & Arts Competition (Open Section) in 1988. In 1999, his painting titled "Loguat" was selected as one of the prize-winning artworks of The 9th National Exhibition of Fine Arts, China 1999 Exhibition of Works of Artists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan of China and of Overseas Chinese Artists.

In 2009, CHIU Wai-yan Philip held his first solo art exhibition at the Hong Kong Central Library. Since 1990, he has held mother-and-son exhibitions with his mother, NG Yuet-lau, at institutions such as the Singapore International Art Gallery, Shenzhen Museum, Guangzhou Museum of Art, Shenzhen University, Shaoguan University, S.H. Ho College of CUHK, and the Gravity Art Gallery at CUHK-Shenzhen, and has participated in various other exhibitions. His works have been collected by Shenzhen University and Shaoguan University.

About the Curator

WEI Xiangqi

WEI Xiangqi was born in Dangshan, Anhui in 1983. He graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts with a master's degree in 2010, and obtained his doctoral degree from the Chinese National Academy of Arts in 2013. He is currently a research fellow at the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) and resides in Beijing. He engages in art exhibition planning and research on modern and contemporary art history. He has curated and organized over 30 exhibition projects at the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) and overseas. Some of the exhibitions he curated have received multiple awards from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of The People's Republic of China. He was selected as a participant in the National Art Museum Young Curator Support Programme in 2021, which is hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of The People's Republic of China.