HKMA Gallery tour on the exhibition: "Pioneer of Modern Chinese Painting: The Art of Lin Fengmian"  

Join us on a private viewing of this important exhibition of Lin Fengmian’s paintings. The Assistant Curator, Mr Raymond Tang, will guide us through the exhibition of 100 paintings by the master.

Lin Fengmian (1900-1991) is considered one the great pioneers of modern Chinese ink painting, who had a profound understanding of both eastern and western art traditions. The exhibition dates are from 4 April - 3 June 2007.

For details on a lectures series on Lin Fengmian organized by the HKMA, please see the separate page.

The Friends of the HKMA and the Oriental Ceramic Society are jointly presenting this lecture by Valerie C. Doran on the subject of scholars’ rocks and scholars’ objects in the Richard Rosenblum Collection.

Ms Doran is a critic, curator, and translator specializing in the field of Chinese art, with a particular interest in comparative art theory. She has worked closely with the American artist and collector Richard Rosenblum and was editor of his book “Art of the Natural World: Resonances of Wild Nature in Chinese Sculptural Art”. Ms Doran is a contributing editor of Orientations and publishes frequently on Asian art topics. She is also a founding member of the Hong Kong Independent Curators Association.

more info

HKMA combined Gallery Tour: “Chinglish-Hong Kong Art Exhibition” and “The Chater Legacy – A Selection of the Chater Collection”

HKMA Curator of Modern Art, Ms Eve Tam, and Ms Maria Mok, Asst. Curator of Historical Pictures will lead us through the exhibition of 46 works selected from Sir Paul Catchick Chater’s Collection in the HKMA. This will be followed by a tour of the five Hong Kong artists’ works at the Contemporary Art Gallery. The galleries will be open especially for the Friends.

Gallery tour of the exhibition: “Ancient Chinese Civilization – Treasures of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Periods from Henan Province” at the HK Museum of History

The exhibition contains 100 items of archaeological and cultural relics from early Chinese history excavated from Henan, in the Central Plains. These include ritual objects, musical instruments, weapons, items of clothing, food, domestic life and transportation, as well as large numbers of bronze ritual wares and weapons of superb workmanship. Mr Ray Ma, Assistant Curator of Archaeology, will be our guide.

The Friends are pleased to invite Dr. Francoise Pommaret to give us a talk on Tibet.  Dr. Francoise Pommaret is an ethno-historian, author of "Tibet, turning the wheel of life" and "Tibet, an enduring civilization", editor of "Lhasa in the 17th century".  She has lectured intensely in numerous academic institutions and is currently spending most of the time in Bhutan.  Dr Pommaret will be leading a small group of Friends to Tibet this summer.

more info

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, paintings and calligraphy flourished and developed a tendency towards stylistic diversity.  The exhibition showcases such changes as well as the taste of the owner of Xubaizhai. Some exhibits were once included in the Qing imperial collection.The Assistant Curator, Mr Sunny Tang, will guide me through the exhibition.

To visit Tibet, the legendary, forbidden land on the roof of the world, has been the dream of many travellers.  We are honoured to invite Dr. Francoise Pommaret* to guide us on this 9days/8nights tour this summer.  The trip coincides with the Shotun Festival which provides colourful operas and masked dances for enthusiastic photographers.  We have also selected the best available accommodation to provide the most comfortable stay for our members.  In the summer months, it’s also a great opportunity to take the children to Tibet to give them an experience as they realize there are people who have a different way of life, often more difficult and that they are very privileged.

Altitude sickness has always been the major concern for visitors in Tibet.  Dr. Pommaret, PhD, who has led numerous trips to Tibet, will send a detailed health travel advisory list to the joining members.  As the trip is mainly confined to Central Tibet, health problems should not be a problem if one is careful and follow the advices.  However, people with heart/lung problems, diabetes or high blood pressure should not consider going and everybody should have a check-up with his/her doctor.

*Francoise Pommaret, PhD, is an ethno-historian, Director of Reasearch at the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research, Ministry of Research and Higher education), Paris and lecturer at the National institute of Oriental and African Studies (INALCO), Paris.

She has been associated with Bhutan in different capacities  since 1979 and has published numerous  scholarly articles and books. She is now curriculum advisor  at the Institute of Language and Culture (ILCS, Royal University of Bhutan).

She is also the author of the first cultural guidebook on Bhutan "Bhutan, a guidebook", Odyssey Guidebook, Hong-Kong (1990, reprint 2003, 2006) and the co-editor and co-author of "Bhutan: mountain fortress of the gods", Serindia, London, 1997. She is also the editor of "Lhasa in the 17th century", Brill, Leiden, 2002.

Her latest wide audience books are  "Tibet, turning the wheel of life",Thames and Hudson, 2003 & in the US "Tibet, an enduring civilization", Abrams Discovery series, NY, 2003; and "Bhoutan. Au plus secret de l'Himalaya", Gallimard Decouvertes, Paris 2005.

Besides she has lectured intensively in numerous academic institutions around the world and has been guest-curator for several exhibitions on Bhutan.

The Executive Committee has approved, with immediate effect, to raise the life membership fee for both single and married couples to $10,000, up from $5,000 previously, a figure which had been unchanged for the past 15 years.

FRIENDS’ TOTE BAG

The Friends’ canvas tote bag has been designed with sturdy leather shoulder straps, perfect for carrying documents, books and shopping. It is available in three colours – orange, purple-gray, and white. $100 each. Your purchase will help us support the HKMA.