Lui Shou-kwan | Artist | East West Bank Art Program

A respected theorist and author, Lui Shou-kwan has been instrumental in the revitalization and continuance of the great tradition of Chinese ink painting. Born in Guangzhou, he moved to Hong Kong in 1948 and was a founding member of the Hong Kong Chung Kok Chinese Art Club in 1956. Having taught himself to paint by first copying antique scrolls in his father’s shop, Lui developed an unmistakable personal style in accordance with classical Chinese philosophies of art, stressing expression of the unique mind and nature of the artist. Beginning in the late 1950s, Lui combined calligraphic brushwork with free gesture and a modernist eye, pushing the boundaries of modern ink painting. A master of brush and ink techniques in all traditional variations, his works are alive with personality: abstract brushstrokes become landscapes with the addition of a boat or the suggestion of a building, while his most representational landscape scenes are infused with romantic touches and sincerity of expression. Culminating in his signature Zen paintings, his more abstract works make use of philosophical and spiritual symbolism, bringing classical motifs into new, more allegorical environments. In 1971, Lui became with first Chinese artist to be awarded the M.B.E.

Lui’s works are in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology at Oxford University; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; the Taipei Museum of History, Taiwan; and the Hong Kong Museum of Art, among others. He has also been exhibited at the Art Institute Chicago. Read more