Hoo Mojong

Introduction

Hoo Mojong was born in Shanghai in 1924 and is a well-known oil painter, recognised for her portrayals of figures and still life depictions. When she was twenty-six, she left China and travelled to Taiwan, Brazil then Spain before settling in Paris in 1965. Like Zao Wou-ki, Chu Teh-Chun and Chao Chung-Hsiang, Hoo belongs to a group of artists who left China in the middle of the twentieth century to observe first-hand European culture and arts. Although they settled in their adoptive countries, many struggled to find a cultural identity. Though Hoo was almost immediately recognised for her art after moving to Paris, as demonstrated by winning first prize at the “Salon Femme Peinture” competition in 1968, stylistically her work neither fits with the Paris School nor is it Social Realist in nature. Her work has been described as simple and casual, because of her attention to objects from everyday life cast in natural yet powerful brushstrokes. As a woman in China, she did not have the same opportunities as her male counterparts to formally study art, so upon arrival in Paris, she went to the Académie de la Grande Chaumière almost every day to learn oil painting and sketching techniques. In 1994, after having lived abroad for over thirty years, she held her first solo exhibition in Taiwan. In 2002, she moved back to Shanghai, and in 2012 passed away.

Alisan Fine Arts first began representing Hoo Mojong in 1996, organising a solo exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum, and simultaneously at the gallery that year. Since then the gallery has held three solo exhibitions – two in conjunction with Le French May – and included her works in several group exhibitions; notably, her work was featured as part of The Chinese Root: Works by Mainland and Overseas Chinese Artists held by the gallery at the Shanghai Art Museum in 1997. Hoo’s paintings have been exhibited in over thirty solo and group exhibitions across the globe, including at the Shanghai Art Museum; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Today Art Museum, Beijing; Art Museum of Central Art Academy, Beijing; Shenzhen Art Museum; Ningbo Art Museum. Her works are present in the collections of the National Library of France; Culture Ministry of France; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Taiwan Mountain Art Museum; Shanghai Art Museum.