Lui Shou-Kwan ( zh, 呂壽琨 (Lü Shoukun); 1919–1975) was a Chinese painter, one of the most prominent ink painters of the 20th century and a founder of the Hong Kong New Ink Movement.

Early life

Lui was born in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

. His father, Lui Can Ming, was also a painter. He studied economics at

Guangzhou University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. Guangzhou University is currently one of the 13 high-level universities in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou University was established in 2000 through the m ...

. He moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1948. While there, he worked as an inspector for the Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company until 1966.

Art and academic career

Lui was active in organising Hong Kong art societies, alongside

Chao Shao-an Chao Shao-an or Zhao Shao'ang (; 1905, Guangdong – 1998) was a Chinese artist of the Lingnan School of painting. Galleries that feature his work * Hong Kong Heritage Museum *Guangzhou Museum of Art * Asian Art Museum of San Francisco ...

. In 1956, he was a founding member of the Hong Kong Chung Kok Chinese Art Club. From 25 May to 4 July 1962, Lui's work was exhibited at the major exhibition, '' Hong Kong Art Today'', at

Hong Kong City Hall Hong Kong City Hall (HKCH, ) is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. In the 19th century, the British founded the Victoria, Hong Kong, City of Victoria in the present-day Centra ...

Museum and Art Gallery (later renamed

Hong Kong Museum of Art The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and one of the main art museums of Hong Kong, located in located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, near the Victoria Harbour waterfront, providing a scenic view of Hong Kong’s skyline. It is a publ ...

in 1975). It was significant as the first exhibition with Hong Kong art as its theme. The exhibition also reflected how naturalism in art had become

passé Obsolescence is the process of becoming antiquated, out of date, old-fashioned, no longer in general use, or no longer useful, or the condition of being in such a state. When used in a biological sense, it means imperfect or rudimentary when comp ...

and that

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

was favoured at that moment in time. He became an honorary adviser to the

in 1962. In 1964, his paintings appeared in the Hong Kong Museum of Art. He taught ink painting at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

's Department of Architecture, and also taught at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

's Department of Extra-Mural Studies in 1966. In 1968, he worked with his students to form the

Tao Art Association The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

. Lui taught prominent artists like Wucius Wong and Gu Mei. Lui was one of those attempting to bring Western

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

into Chinese art, making note of how artists like

Franz Kline Franz Kline (May 23, 1910 – May 13, 1962) was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Mo ...

and

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...

were inspired by Asian calligraphy. Despite his admiration of modernism, he was also inspired by the traditional style of Huang Banruo (Wong Po-Yeh). In 1971, Lui was awarded an MBE for his contributions to the arts. He is most known for his "''Zen''" series of abstract paintings, created from the 1960s until his death. The paintings make use of philosophical and spiritual symbolism, showing

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

motifs like the lotus and flames.

Legacy

Lui's paintings have appeared in multiple auctions by

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

. In 2018,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

hosted an exhibition on Lui, calling him "one of the most significant artists in Hong Kong during the mid-twentieth century".

Selected works

Books

*'' A Study of Chinese Paintings'' (1956)

Paintings

*''Zen'' (1968) *''Purity'' (1970)

References

External links

Transcultural Ink
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lui, Shou-Kwan 1919 births 1975 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Artists from Guangzhou Academic staff of the University of Hong Kong Academic staff of the Chinese University of Hong Kong