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When considering the culture and art in Hong Kong, the 1960s and 1970s were pivotal as the period of major developments. During these two decades, a group of energetic pioneering individuals, who rooted in Eastern traditions, set their visions in the modernistic. These individuals became the driving forces in the development of Hong Kong Art. Economically, Hong Kong developed in leaps and bounds after the Second World War, leading the booming of local design business. Mr Kan Tai-keung, the first generation of local graphic designer, started his profession in design in such atmosphere and flourishing market.
Today, Kan has become an internationally renowned designer. The numerous design awards he won in Hong Kong and overseas marked the recognition and achievements he made in the field of design. Being a leading figure in the field, he always makes himself available in the education and promotion of art and design.
To celebrate Kan's distinctive achievements in arts, design and education, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (Heritage Museum) will present an exhibition entitled "From Life to Mind: Kan Tai-keung's Design and Art" from tomorrow (June 5) to October 7, offering viewers an opportunity to appreciate its cream collection on Kan's works.
Currently, the Heritage Museum houses about 900 items of Kan's works which were donated to the Museum by batches since 1997. Covering the best-known works of graphic design and art by the artist, the "From Life to Mind" exhibition outlines a comprehensive profile of the artist's creativity.
Speaking at today's (June 4) opening ceremony of the exhibition, the Deputy Director (Culture) of Leisure and Cultural Services, Miss Choi Suk-kuen, commended Kan's contributions to the fields of design and art. Miss Choi noted that Kan's works were characterised by quiet simplicity, pictorial, harmony, infiltration of traditional Chinese painting technique and combination of the East and the West, the old and the new.
Born in China in 1942, Kan moved to Hong Kong in 1957. He was interested in art since his childhood. Influenced by his grandfather, Kan aimed to be an artist when he was young. Because of the living, he stopped his study in secondary school and became a tailor apprentice. Nevertheless, he never stopped art creation. He later met Mr Wong Wucius and Mr Lu Shoukun, the most influential teachers in his life, in the design and art courses offered by the Extramural Department of The Hong Kong Chinese University. In 1967, Kan started his career as designer and later he founded his own design company in 1976. His works were highly appreciated and soon became an internationally renowned designer.
Kan has devoted himself in the fields of design and art for more than 30 years. The dual development as a graphic designer and an artist requires him to resolve major differences in social function, representational modes and creative concepts of applied and fine art. As what he says: I love design work. Whether it is market-oriented, functional and restrictive, or more artistic in purpose and with greater creative freedom, I devote myself wholeheartedly and strive for innovation. I am not satisfied if my designs merely fulfill a highly practical function. I always ask myself to take up the cultural mission and embrace the world in my heart, so that I may create designs that are capable of elevating the material and spiritual life of the people.
About his art, Kan experimented with various media at the end of the 1960s and the early 1970s, taking up acrylic, watercolour, ink painting and printmaking. He was particularly intrigued by the simple planes and geometric forms by that period of time. His painting turned to figurative-mechanical forms later on. The mid 1970s was pivotal in establishing Kan as an ink painter. The subject matters of his work turned from the mechanical forms and design-influenced compositions to the natural and traditional with landscape, the most prominent element in his subjects. And he became one of the leading figures in the Hong Kong Modernist Ink Painting Movement. Kan's creative career matured fully in the 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium. He moved his focus to the execution of ideas and the mobility of his brush strokes. Through the 70 groups of works of art presented in this exhibition, visitors will get an introduction of the various stages of Kan's explorations into the realm of art.
About his design, Kan's design works during the 1960s and 1970s reflected strong influences from Western concepts, and were distinguished by a strong modernist flavour. Later on, he began the explorations in Chinese cultural traditions in order to formulate a style that carried nationalistic meanings. His cultural posters, which employed oriental folk elements, began a wave of enthusiasm in Asian folklorist styles. Since the 1980s, he has openly introduced the elements of traditional ink painting into his posters, combining the traditional ink and brush and textured stroke techniques with the spirit of modernist design concepts. The red dot in his works represents different meanings in different works of art. This red dot symbolizes everything on earth, the belief in mind, the bloody wound, a mother's nipple, and the deeper significance of this red dot can also be the abstract form of lotus flower in the paintings of Lu Shoukun, a tribute that Kan pays to his teacher.
No matter in which form, the design pieces displayed in this exhibition will illustrate Kan's strong personal style, an ocean-deep of Chinese tradition and culture under the modernised appearance, the highest pursuit of the designer.
To further enhance the public's interest in the exhibition, Kan's rich and inspirational collection of curios and artefacts from his studio along with his quotations will be featured, providing visitors with an opportunity to appreciate the artistic appeal of the artist and the philosophy behind his design. Moreover, a forum and workshops will be organised, and an exhibition catalogue and a documentary video have been produced with an aim to reflect Kan's way of living, his attitude to work, his artistic representation of Nature, his creativity in design and his devotion to education.
The Heritage Museum is located at 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin. It opens from 10 am to 6 pm on Mondays, Wednesday to Saturday and from 10 am to 7 pm on Sundays and public holidays. It closes on Tuesdays, except public holidays. The admission fee is $10 with half-price concession applicable to full-time students, people with disabilities and senior citizens aged 60 or above. Admission is free on Wednesdays. For more information, please visit the Museum's website: http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk or call 2180 8188.
End/Tuesday, June 4, 2002
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