Chao Shao-an's landscape paintings on display at Heritage Museum

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As one of the most outstanding figures in contemporary Chinese painting, Professor Chao Shao-an (1905-1998) was adept at painting flowers, birds, insects, fish, animals, human figures and landscapes. He attained an impressive international reputation, in particular for his unparalleled talent in flower-and-bird paintings, however, Professor Chao was also a master at landscapes. He devoted much creative effort to this genre, finally arriving at a unique style and recording extraordinary achievements.

Currently, an exhibition entitled "Chao Shao-an Gallery Thematic Exhibition - Landscape Painting" is being staged at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (Heritage Museum), featuring about 40 landscape paintings by the master and over 100 personal seals selected from the local museums and private collectors. Running until August 5, 2003, the exhibition provides a great opportunity for visitors to appreciate the representative works of this great master.

The vast majority of Professor Chao's works that can be seen in various private collections and at museums both locally and overseas are flower-and-bird paintings. Although in his later years Professor Chao donated a large number of paintings to the collections of the Guangzhou Arts Museum, the San Francisco Asian Arts Museum and several museums in Hong Kong, these collections only contain about 50 landscape paintings, half of which are album leafs. Indeed, little is known about the early landscape paintings that Professor Chao created as he travelled throughout China and abroad. Nor is much information available concerning private collections of his works. With the passage of time, and in particular during the chaotic years of the Second World War, many of Professor Chao's landscape paintings were lost. Today, except for a few representative works in museums, the only evidence that can be found of many of these works are illustrations in publications.

The Heritage Museum therefore presents this special exhibition, which offers art lovers a greater selection of Professor Chao's landscape paintings to reminiscence and scholars a wealth of study materials for their research on the achievements of this great master. The exhibits are mostly on loan from collections of Professor Chao's sons, Mr Chiu Chi Kon and Mr Chiu Chi Tai, and private collectors Mr Ren Zhao He and Mr Tang Chu Nan.

Professor Chao was one of the most outstanding masters of the Lingnan School of Painting. Influenced by his teacher Gao Qifeng (1889-1933), and Gao Jianfu's (1879-1951) ideas of the "Modernization of Chinese Painting", Professor Chao committed to combine the traditional painting techniques with careful observation of nature and subsequently developed his unique artistic style with expressive brushwork, refined compositions and a personal sentiment.

As what he said "taking nature as teacher and relying on one's own intelligence", Professor Chao placed great emphasis on the observation of nature. The images and objects depicted in his works were extracted from nature and processed through his own feelings and responses. Obviously the solid background in realistic sketching proved vital to his artistic achievements. Professor Chao's works are characterised by poetic mood, accuracy in appearance and imbued with an inner spirit.

Professor Chao travelled to various cities in Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia, where he was invited to hold exhibitions and give talks and demonstrations of his art. He was awarded high acclaim in the art world and attracted a large following of local and overseas students. He made significant contributions to the promotion of Chinese painting as well as to the consolidation of the prestigious status of the Lingnan School of painting in the history of art.

The Heritage Museum is located at 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin. It opens from 10 am to 6 pm daily and from 10 am to 7 pm on Sundays and public holidays. It closes on every Tuesday (except public holidays). Admission fee is $10 and half-price concession is applicable to full-time students, people with disabilities and senior citizens aged 60 or above. Admission is free on Wednesdays. Moreover, there are free shuttle-bus services available between KCR Sha Tin Station and the Museum from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturdays and from 10 am to 7 pm on Sundays and public holidays.

For more information, please call 2180 8188 or visit the Museum's website: http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk

End/Friday, August 9, 2002

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