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Two exhibitions are now on view at the Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). “Splendid Images: Chinese Paintings from the Eryi Caotang Collection” opened on 28 November and “Open Books: Artists and the Chinese Folding-books” on 12 December. Interested members of the public are welcome.

Splendid Images: Chinese Paintings from the Eryi Caotang Collection features 70 modern Chinese paintings crafted by great masters, providing an overview of the development of Chinese ink painting from the late 19th century to the 20th century, whilst Open Books: Artists and the Chinese Folding-books explores the possibilities of a cross-cultural investigation of Chinese-style bound volumes made by visual artists from China and the West. Despite differences in style and time, both exhibitions reveal the evolution of Chinese art from traditional to contemporary.

Splendid Images: Chinese Paintings from the Eryi Caotang Collection

Having collected modern Chinese painting for over four decades, the master of Eryi Caotang has assembled an extraordinary collection. The exhibition features 70 masterpieces by well-known masters including Qi Baishi (1864-1957), Xu Beihong (1895-1953), Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Lin Fengmian (1900-1990), Fu Baoshi (1904-1965), and Li Keran (1907-1989). His remarkable collection manifests the spectrum and development of twentieth-century Chinese painting, which makes this exhibition a spectacle that should not be missed. Many of these paintings were collected during the 1970s and 1980s, when Hong Kong’s economic boom fostered a new group of collectors. The master of Eryi Caotang was a typical Hong Kong businessman of that period, and his success in business led to his lifelong passion for Chinese painting and friendships with many prominent artists.

The exhibition is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue. It includes images and inscriptions of 70 exhibits and 52 other paintings which are not on view. It also publishes an interview with the master of Eryi Caotang and an essay by Prof. Kao May-ching.

Open Books: Artists and the Chinese Folding-books

In China, the folding-book has been a very common choice of display for painting and calligraphy, especially in literati culture where the book has occupied pride of place for centuries. This exhibition gathers visual artists from China and the West to work within the format of Chinese folding-books, which contributes to a cross-cultural examination of book art. As an international travelling exhibition, it was initially launched in 2012 at the National Library of Wales and later also featured at the Sanshang Contemporary Art Museum in Hangzhou and Logan Regional Gallery in Queensland. In 2014, the Art Museum is delighted to host this exceptional exhibition in Hong Kong.

To provide a novel experience to viewers in Hong Kong, many of the artworks currently shown are different from the past. All these diversified folding-books are crafted by artists from the United Kingdom and Australia, alongside Chinese and Hong Kong artists. Works by western artists serve as interesting contrast to those by Chinese artists, vividly demonstrates the possibilities of a particular format with variety in style under different sociocultural environments.

Details of the two exhibitions are as follows:

Attachment: Exhibit highlights from the two exhibitions