Fung Ming-Chip
1951, Guangdong, China
Introduction
Born in Guangdong, China, in 1951 Fung Ming-Chip grew up in Hong Kong, before spending his early adult life in New York and Taiwan. Self-taught, Fung’s career spans nearly four decades and is rooted in the written word first explored through the classical art of seal engraving. The artist later expanded his artistic practice to wood-carving, ink painting, calligraphy, sculpture.
Since 1975, Fung has diligently practiced traditional calligraphy and has also been guided by the hallmarks of Abstract Expressionism, especially by the movement’s emphasis on the gestural treatment of line and space. Significantly, this school of artists, including Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Tobey drew their inspiration from Chinese calligraphy and culture. In 1977, he moved to New York, and since 1986, he has lived between New York, Taipei and Hong Kong before settling in Hong Kong in 2006, where he currently resides and practices. He was an artist in residence at Jesus College, Cambridge University, UK in 2004, and particiated in the project After Mi Fu Handscroll by Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
Since 1975, Fung has diligently practiced traditional calligraphy and has also been guided by the hallmarks of Abstract Expressionism, especially by the movement’s emphasis on the gestural treatment of line and space. Significantly, this school of artists, including Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Tobey drew their inspiration from Chinese calligraphy and culture. In 1977, he moved to New York, and since 1986, he has lived between New York, Taipei and Hong Kong before settling in Hong Kong in 2006, where he currently resides and practices. He was an artist in residence at Jesus College, Cambridge University, UK in 2004, and particiated in the project After Mi Fu Handscroll by Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
Through his own unique process of research and analysis, Fung Ming-Chip draws out new inferences on both a technical and conceptual level, leading him to new discoveries. To date, he has developed over one hundred and forty new strains of calligraphy. Positing and predicting new classifications in calligraphic development, Fung undertakes experiments to determine the feasibilities and possibilities inherent within each one. In this way, he not only extends the tradition of calligraphy but also expands its development as a contemporary art form.
Major exhibitions include Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions, Asia Society Texas, 2023; Ink Dreams, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2021; Arts of China: New Acquisitions, Asian Galleries, Brooklyn Museum, New York, 2019; Ink Worlds, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, 2018.
BIOGRAPHY
1951 Born in Guangdong, China
1956 Raised in Hong Kong where he started working after completed primary school
1977 Moved to New York, US
1986 Began living between New York, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
1986 Playwright and director of 5 dramas in Taipei, Taiwan
1992 Publication a fiction Curious Dealer’s Mermaid
2004 Artist in Residence at Jesus College, Cambridge University, UK
2006 Lives in Hong Kong
2014 Artist’s Talk, Asian Art Hong Kong, Liang Yi Museum, Hong Kong
2015 Invited to give a talk at 70 John Gallery, New York, USA
2019 Artwork featured at Spotlight Gallery Conversation: Chinese Hanging Scrolls, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
2020 Speaker, Summer Talk Serise: Development of Hong Kong Art, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020
- Null Set, QM Fine Art, New York, USA
- Shu Fa Sutra, Galerie du Monde, Hong Kong
- M. Sutherland Fine Arts, New York, USA
- Mandarin Oriental, Miami, USA
- Art Platform, Los Angeles, USA
- To Be & Not To Be, The Private Museum, Singapore
- Asia One Art Fair, Hong Kong
- Miami Art Fair, Miami, USA
- Gebert Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
2005
- Beginning of Infinity, Neuhoff Gallery, New York, USA
- Rational Line, Jesus College, Cambridge University, UK
- Gallery Saka, Tokyo, Japan
- Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
- Goedhuis Contemporary, London, UK
- Tsing Hwa University, Hsin Chu, Taiwan
- Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- Caligrafia Chinesa de Fung Ming-chip, Galeria da Casa Garden, Fundacåo Oriente, Macau
- Party, Pan Pan Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan
- Value Transformation, Duchamp Gallery, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Variations of Seal Carving, County Cultural Centre, Taipei, Taiwan
- The Word by Ming-chip Fung, Quart Society, Hong Kong
- The Seal 1975-1985, Asian Arts Institute, New York, USA
- Photo Space, Catherine Gallery, New York, USA
- The Seal - Another Chapter, G&G Associates Fine Art, New York, USA
- Lenscape, American Library, United States of America Consulate, Hong Kong
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, Los Angeles, USA
Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA
Harvard University Art Museum, Cambridge, MA, USA
Princeton University Art Gallery, Princeton, USA
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, USA
Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL, USA
Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA
World Bank, Washington D.C., USA
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Collection, USA
Khoan & Michael Sullivan Collection, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, UK
The Olenska Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung, Taiwan
Westin Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan
Ju Ming Foundation, Taiwan
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
United Airlines, Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
China Club, Hong Kong
Mobil Oil, Hong Kong
Shanghai Tang, Hong Kong & New York
Fundacao Oriente, Macau
2024
2023
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Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions, Asia Society Texas, Houston, USA
2022
- The Magic of Zen: Celebration of Chinese Language Day, Secretariat Building, United Nations, New York, USA
- Flying Ink: Hengshan International Calligraphy Art Exhibition, Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan
-
Ink Dreams: Selections from the Fondation INK Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
-
HKAGA Fundraiser 2020 Take 2, Alisan Fine Arts, Christie's VIP Lounge, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
-
Uniquely Hong Kong: A Celebration of Hong Kong Art, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
- Arts of China: New Acquisitions, Asian Galleries, Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
- Writing/Non-writing, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China
- 2050. A Brief History of the Future, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
- Ink Worlds: Contemporary Chinese Painting from the Collection of Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, The Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA
- When Less is More, Alisan Fine Arts-Aberdeen, Hong Kong
2016
- Alisan Fine Arts 35 Years, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong
- The 9th International Ink Art Biennale of Shenzhen, Shenzhen Fine Art Institute, Shenzhen, China
- Magic of Chinese Characters, Chinese Calligraphy in 3000 Years, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland
- Tracing the Brush: Transformed Text, 1st Ink Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
- Writing Non-writing, Art Museum of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China
- A Tale of Two Cities, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong
- Echoes of One Hand Clapping: Picturing Sound in Asian Art, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, USA
- Noirs D’Encre. Regards Croisés, Foundation Baur Musée des Arts D’Extreme-Orient, Genéve, Switzerland
- Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- Ink Art vs Ink Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
- Writing/Non-writing, Art Museum of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China
- Ink Art VS Ink Art, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- Selected Hong Kong Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
- Calligraffiti, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, USA
- Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue - New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond, curated by Alice King, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
- Shenzhen Ink Biennial, Shenzhen Museum of Art, Shenzhen, China
- Looking for Antonio Mak, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
- Made In China, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark; Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
- The Act of Writing and of Non-writing: The Open Space for Chinese Calligraphy, Art Museum of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China
- The Painted Word: Language as Image in Modern Art, Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, USA
- Paris-Pekin, Espace Cardin, Paris, France
- China, Museum Saap, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- The Rhythmic Line: Contemporary Calligraphy, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
- Tradition and Experimentation: 2nd Chinese Calligraphy of the Millennium, Ho’s Gallery of Calligraphy Arts, Taipei; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan
- China Without Borders, Sotheby’s, New York, USA
- New Perspective on Contemporary Calligraphy, Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
- The Power of Words, Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
- Medium Transpositio, Kuo Mu Sheng Foundation Art Centre, Taiwan
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Tracing 2000, Color Field Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan
- Avant Gardes en Chine, Galerie LOFT, Paris, France
- Fans, Color Field Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan
- Stream Segment, Asian American Arts Centre, New York, USA
- Asia Pacific Heritage Month, Mass Transit Authority Headquarters, New York, USA
- Looking Through Lines, Dimension Endowment of Art, Taipei, Taiwan
- Flowering in the West, Haenah-Kent Gallery, New York, USA
- Chinesische Kalligraphie, Galerie Lommel, Germany
- Contemporary Primitive, ABC NO RIO, New York, USA
- Asian Artists Show, A Gallery, New York, USA
- Gorilla Art Show, Avenue B Gallery, New York, USA
- Small Works Exhibition, Washington Square East Galleries, New York University, New York, USA
- Self-Portrait, The Landmark, Hong Kong
- Chinese Center, Montreal, Canada
- Center for Chinese Art and Culture, Boston, USA
- City Hall, Hong Kong
SELECTED SPECIAL PROJECTS
2014 After Mi Fu Handscroll, Response to Mi Fu’s Boat on Wu River, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
2008 Les Poèmes du Mandarin Tableware Collection, Hermès, France
2007 Mural: Inner Universe, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
2004 Artist in Residence, Jesus College, Cambridge University, UK
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, Los Angeles, USA
Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA
Harvard University Art Museum, Cambridge, MA, USA
Princeton University Art Gallery, Princeton, USA
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, USA
Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL, USA
Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA
World Bank, Washington D.C., USA
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Collection, USA
Khoan & Michael Sullivan Collection, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, UK
The Olenska Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung, Taiwan
Westin Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan
Ju Ming Foundation, Taiwan
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
United Airlines, Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
China Club, Hong Kong
Mobil Oil, Hong Kong
Shanghai Tang, Hong Kong & New York
Fundacao Oriente, Macau
