The "From Dung Basket to Dining Cart: 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Wu Guanzhong" and "A Pleasure Shared: Selected Works from the Chih Lo Lou Collection" phase II exhibitions have renewed most of the exhibits from phase I and will open to the public from tomorrow (May 22) at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). The exhibitions feature two important donations of the museum collection.
Over the years, Chinese painting master Wu Guanzhong and his family have gifted more than 450 items to the HKMoA. A permanent Wu Guanzhong Art Gallery has been set up to showcase the donated works. To mark the centenary of Wu's birth, the exhibition "From Dung Basket to Dining Cart: 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Wu Guanzhong" features over 100 pieces from the museum and private collections in two phases. It serves as a retrospective of his artistic journey between the East and the West for over half a century.
Highlighted exhibits in the phase II exhibition include "Nest", one of the last paintings which Wu donated to the museum before he passed away on June 25, 2010, and a dung basket which he used as painting tool in the countryside will also be on display. Excerpts of a six-episode art education documentary "A Journey into Wu Guanzhong's Jiangnan", co-presented by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and the HKMoA, will also be showing at the gallery. Based on Wu's paintings related to the Jiangnan region from the museum collection, the documentary follows his footsteps around the region and discusses the artistic and creative concepts of the art master.
The Chih Lo Lou Collection is one of Hong Kong's foremost collections of Chinese paintings and calligraphy. The collection's founder, Mr Ho Iu-kwong (1907 – 2006), named his collection "Chih Lo Lou". In 2018, the Ho family generously donated over 350 works from the Chih Lo Lou Collection to the HKMoA. The works will be displayed in the dedicated Chih Lo Lou Gallery of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy. The inaugural exhibition is "A Pleasure Shared: Selected Works from the Chih Lo Lou Collection", featuring characteristic artworks from the collection dating between the Ming dynasty and the 20th century in two phases.
Phase II of the exhibition will feature an art education video "A Pleasure in Art: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Appreciation", which is an animation series for the appreciation of the art of Chinese painting and calligraphy. Moreover, a special stamp issue entitled "Hong Kong Museums Collection – Selection from the Chih Lo Lou Collection" launched today (May 21), selected works including Tang Yin's "Peach Blossom Retreat", Lu Zhi's "Gathering fungus", Chen Zi's "Miscellaneous subjects", and Shitao's "Landscapes depicting poems of Huang Yanlü" are also featured in the exhibition.
In view of the latest situation of COVID-19, the HKMoA is partially open and has implemented special arrangements and precautionary measures to help ensure public safety. Visits by sessions are arranged to limit visitor flows. For details, please visit hk.art.museum/en_US/web/ma/home.html.
Both exhibitions will run until July 5. The HKMoA is located at 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. For details of the exhibitions, please visit the website: hk.art.museum/en_US/web/ma/exhibitions-and-events.html or call 2721 0116 for enquiries.
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