Gallery Tour – No Frontier : The Art of Ding Yanyong

Ding Yanyong (1902-1978) left his hometown in Guangdong for Japan in the 1920’s and enrolled in the Tokyo Fine Arts School. There he adopted the styles of Matisse and those espoused by Fauvism as the basis for his own art, and upon his return to China he became an active promoter of modern art and art education. In the 1930s, Ding began studying Chinese painting through the artwork of Qing masters Bada Shanren, Shitao and Jin Nong and by collecting ancient implements of crafts. It was at this point that he began his lifelong exploration of a synthesis of Chinese and Western art. After the civil war in 1949, Ding moved to Hong Kong where he helped found an art course at the New Asia College, the predecessor of the Fine Arts Department at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and taught there until his passing in 1978. Over the years, he faced adversity with a strong sense of will and pursued his art despite difficult circumstances. With diverse media at his creative disposal ─ from oil painting to ink painting, calligraphy and seal-engraving ─ he forged an original style based on the creative interplay of these media.

Sometimes referred to as the “Oriental Matisse” and a “Modern Bada Shanren”, Ding Yanyong was a pioneer and major Hong Kong artist who broke down the barriers between Chinese and Western art, and best exemplifies the unique cultural heritage of Hong Kong.

Date & Time:	Wednesday, 14 Jan 2009, 6:00pm
Venue:	Hong Kong Museum of Art
Cost:	Members & Students Free, Guests $50
Language:	Cantonese
Date & Time:	Wednesday, 18 Feb 2009, 6:00pm
Language:	English