Hon Chi-fun

1922-2019, Hong Kong

Introduction

Born in Hong Kong in 1922, and one of Hong Kong’s most iconic artists, Hon Chi-fun, is a self-taught artist who began painting in the 1950s. From an early age he practiced calligraphy and brush work with his siblings on stone slabs. By 1956, he had devoted himself to his art, while working at the Hong Kong General Post Office. It was during this period that he began to study Western art movements and became associated with two other famed Hong Kong artists, Luis Chan and Lui Shou-kwan. In 1964, he co-founded the Circle Art Group (1964-1971), and that same year was awarded the Gold Medal at the Third Hong Kong International Salon of Paintings. After the completion of his definitive work Bath of Fire (1968), a set of three oil and screen prints on canvas, he began his first grand tour of Europe. He visited the Venice Biennale in Italy and Documenta in Germany. In 1969, he was awarded the John D. Rockefeller III Fellowship Fund, and lived in New York for a year, after which he toured South America and India. These experiences abroad and the direct contact with a myriad of artistic traditions served to expand his aesthetic knowledge. Known for his paintings of circles, Hon once declared: “The circle is me.”

When asked to reminisce about the gallery, Hon said that “I remember that it was one morning during the early 1980s when Alice came to visit our studio for the first time. At the time, it was rare that a person of Chinese ethnicity knew how to promote Hong Kong modern art, [and] Mrs. King was [the exception] and a pioneer. She has discovered important artists, who might have otherwise have been forgotten, such as overseas women artists from the early years.” Alisan Fine Arts began showing his work in 1983, and since then has held two solo exhibitions for the artist, in 2000 and 2005 respectively.

Major retrospectives of Hon’s work have been held in 1999 by the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong, in 2005 at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, in 2007 at the CityU Gallery at the City University of Hong Kong, and 2019 at Asia Society Hong Kong Centre. His works have been collected by Hong Kong Museum of Art; M+; Hong Kong Heritage Museum; University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Land; Hong Kong MTR Corporation; Deutsche Bank, Hong Kong; National City Bank of Chicago, United States. In the lobby of Jardine House, Hong Kong, hangs a monumental mural-size painting, titled The Making of the Spheres Series (1988), by Hon.

Biography
1922 Born in Hong Kong
1941 Graduated from Wah Yan College, Hong Kong
1956 Worked at the Hong Kong general Post Office, Hong Kong. He joined the Chinese Contemporary Artist’s Guild, Hong Kong
1964 Gold medal winner in the 3^rd Hong Kong International Salon of Paintings
1965 Co-Founded the Circle Art Group (1964-1971), with seven painters and sculptors, Hong Kong
1966 First edition of silk screen prints Lotus Image published
1968 Completed his definitive work Bath of Fire
Visited the Venice Biennale, Italy; Documenta, Germany
Taught at Department of Extra Mural Studies, The University of Hong Kong
1969 First Hong Kong awardee of the JDR III Fund Fellowship
Studied lithography and etching at Pratt Graphic Center, New York, USA
1970 Visited South America
1972 Resigned from Hong Kong Post Office
Visited Henry Moore in Much hadham, UK; Zao Wou-ki in Paris, France
Travelled India
1973-76 Travelled USA for six months every year, attended lectures by Motherwell, Allen Kaprow
Visited Mainland China
1976 Murals commissioned for the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre
1978 Travelled Mount Lu and met famous Chinese artists including Zhu Qizhan, Lu Yanshao, Cheng Shifa
1989 Murals commissioned for Jardine House, Hong Kong and for the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre. Documentary film Hon’s Orbit produced by Hong Kong Museum of Art
1992 Moves to Canada
1993 Last edition of silkscreen Time and New Height produced
1999 Documentary film Hon’s Art of Serigraphy produced by Hong Kong Heritage Museum
2000 Returns to Hong Kong with family. Seizure of stroke. Published catalogue Space and Passion: The Art of Hon Chi-fun, Hong Kong
2013 Awarded Medal of Honour by the Government of the Hong Kong SAR
2019 Passed away in Hong Kong

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2019

A Story of Light: Hon Chi-fun, Asia Society Hong Kong Centre, Hong Kong

2013

Hon Chi-fun: Early Landscapes on Board, University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Hon Chin-fun's Perspective @ 91, Hongkong Land and the Asian Cultural Council, the Rotunda Exchange Square, Hong Kong

2007

Conceptual Feeling beyond Images: The Works of Hon Chi-fun, CityU Gallery, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2005

Secret Code, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Hon Chi-fun: A Hong Kong Icon, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2000

Space and Passion: The Art of Hon Chi-fun, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1999-2000

Recent Journeys and Interludes: Paintings by Hon Chi-fun, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong

1996

Hong Kong Art: An Introduction in Toronto, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada

1988

Over and Yonder: Paintings by Hon Chi-fun, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

1981

Exhibition of Painting by Hon Chi-fun, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong

1977

American Library, Hong Kong

1975

Solo Exhibition of Silkscreen Prints, Extramural Studies Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

1974

City Museum & Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1971

City Hall, Hong Kong

1969

Willard Gallery, New York, USA

1968

American Library, Hong Kong

1963, 65

Chatham Galleries, Hong Kong

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024-2025

Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination, M+, Hong Kong

2024

Word Play, Alisan Fine Arts, Central, Hong Kong

2023

Modern Masters from Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Cromwell Place, London, UK

2022-2023

By the People: Creative Chinese Characters, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
In Between, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

2022

Landscapes Through Time, Fine Art Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2021-2022

Individuals, Networks, Expressions, South Galleries, M+, Hong Kong
The Cabinet, Cabinet exhibition space, M+, Hong Kong

2021

NOT A Fashion Store!, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

2020

Uniquely Hong Kong: A Celebration of Hong Kong Art, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2019

Hong Kong Experience • Hong Kong Experiment, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

2018

Asian Cultural Council Fellows Annual Exhibition 2018: A Charity Exhibition of Works by ACC Alumni, Alisan Fine Arts, Hog Kong

2016

Celebrating 35 Years of Promoting Chinese Contemporary Art, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong

2010

Legacy & Creations: Ink Art vs Ink Art, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China

2009

Selected Hong Kong Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2007

Celebrating 20 Years at Prince's Building, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1995

Wonders of Chinese Abstraction, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1989

Galerie Art East / Art West, Hamburg, Germany

1983

Contemporary Vision of Three Hong Kong Artists: Hon Chi-fun, Leung Kui-ting, Wong Cheung, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1973

Hong Kong Contemporary Prints by Chinese Artists, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

1972

Contemporary Hong Kong Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

1971

Art Now Hong Kong, Hong Kong City Museum & Art Gallery, Hong Kong; Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London; Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, Edinburgh; City Art Gallery, Bristol; City Art Gallery, Manchester, UK

1970

19^th National Print Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
2nd British International Print Biennial, Bradford, UK
1st International Print Biennal Exhibition, Seoul, South Korea

1968

Circle Group show, City Museum & Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1967

Music & Fine Arts Festival, City Museum & Art Gallery, Hong Kong
Three Chinese Artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan: Hon Chi-fun, Jackson Yu, Chuang Che, First National City Bank, New York, USA

1966