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Museum of Art to hold Ha Bik-chuen retrospective exhibition (with photos)
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     An exhibition, "From Common to Uncommon - the Legend of Ha Bik-chuen", organised by the Hong Kong Museum of Art in memory of the late local artist Ha Bik-chuen, will be held at the Museum from tomorrow (April 15) to July 17.

     Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, organised by the Museum of Art and supported by the Hong Kong Sculpture Society, the exhibition features 82 works by Ha, including prints, sculptures, ink and mixed media works.

     The exhibition was opened today (April 14) by the Under Secretary for Home Affairs, Ms Florence Hui; Mrs Ha Leung Siu-mei; Mr Simon Ha; Chairman of the Art Museum Advisory Panel, Mr Vincent Lo; President of the Hong Kong Sculpture Society, Mr Victor Tai; Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mrs Betty Fung; and Chief Curator of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Mr Tang Hoi-chiu.

     Ha Bik-chuen, who was affectionately known as "The Venerable Mr Ha" in Hong Kong art circles, earned his nickname for his lifelong pursuit and cultivation of art.  The years of his active career saw the transformation of Hong Kong from a tiny city with a struggling, developing economy into a world-class metropolis.

     Mr Tang said Ha did not limit himself to any medium, but opened himself up to all forms of art. His early works were sculptures and prints made of bamboo, wood and miscellaneous objects he came across.  They were often collages made up of a wide variety of material using a crafting idiom - features that reflected Ha's background as a crafter and his unique style.

     Mr Tang said, "His later prints involved various forms and images, both figurative and abstract, with lots of thrown-outs such as industrial scraps, useless auto parts and household discards. By reassembling them, he created a unique aesthetics of beau sauvage, an echo of naïve folk art.

     "Towards his later years, Uncle Ha turned more to ink painting and developed a style of his own, one that merges the abstraction in his art, the aleatoric elements of ink painting and the brush strokes of Chinese calligraphy. Another aspect of his diverse interests was photography. As he strolled along the streets, he would take pictures of anything he saw, such as his own silhouette on the ground, the crisscrossing roots of trees, fallen leaves, sprouting branches and rusty rings at the Cattle Depot, the patchy grain on rocks and stones. These elements represented his artistic alertness to what went on around him and his keen eye for detail.  He was always laden with photographic equipment to take photos at exhibitions, and it was regarded as an integral part of every exhibition and art event. The pictures and photographic records he left behind are an important documentation of the art scene in Hong Kong," Mr Tang said.

     Ha Bik-chuen (1925-2009) was born in the Xinhui District of Guangdong, China. He moved to Macau in 1949 and settled in Hong Kong in 1957, where he began practising art creation in the 1960s. Ha excelled in making sculptures, prints, ink art and mixed media works. He was the Founding President of the Hong Kong Sculpture Society, and member of many art groups such as the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society, Hong Kong Sculptors Association and Hong Kong Graphics Society. His works were displayed at the Hong Kong Museum of Art's "Contemporary Hong Kong Art Exhibitions" and "Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibitions", and also at the "Art Now Hong Kong Exhibition" tour in England in 1971. His prints have been exhibited in Hong Kong, USA, Poland, Norway and Yugoslavia. Ha received many awards, including the Urban Council Fine Arts Awards (Sculpture and Print) in 1975 and the Award for Arts Achievement (Visual Arts) from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2003.

     The Museum of Art is located at 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. It opens from 10am to 6pm from Sunday to Wednesday and on Fridays, and from 10am to 8pm on Saturdays. It is closed on Thursdays (except public holidays).

     For details of the exhibition, please visit the Museum of Art's website hk.art.museum or call 2721 0116.

Ends/Thursday, April 14, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:46

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