Chronology

1981

Gallery co-founder Alice King started to organize exhibitions under the name Arts Promotion
Lotus by Chang Chieh, Societe Generale

1982

Lithographs and Etchings by Contemporary European Artists, Societe Generale
Paintings by Chuang Che, Clear Water Bay Golf and Country Club
Chinese Paintings by Three Hong Kong Artists, Societe Generale

1984

The gallery opens its first office in 605 Wellington House, 3A Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong

Paintings by Lui Shou-kwan, Societe Generale

1985

The gallery was formally registered as Alisan Fine Arts Ltd. on April 23rd, 1985 and the gallery moves to 615 Holland House, 9 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong

Drawings for Sculptures: Ming Fay

A Visual Trio: Pine, Mountain & Cloud, Societe Generale

1986

Drawings, Graphics and Bronze Sculptures by Henry Moore
Abstract Paintings on Canvas by Chuang Che, Societe Generale
Recent Works by Ha Bik-chuen, Societe Generale
Rice Paper Paintings by Walasse Ting

1987

Recent Paintings by Rosamond Brown, Societe Generale; Alisan Fine Arts
A Decade Plus: An Exhibition of Ink Paintings from 1970 to 1987, Societe Generale; Alisan Fine Arts
Reality and Infinity, Societe Generale; Alisan Fine Arts
Hsiao Chin, Societe Generale; Alisan Fine Arts
Alisan Fine Arts moves to 315 Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong

1988

Selected Works by Lui Shou-kwan
Poetic Landscapes by Leng Hong
Reent Ink Paintings by Poon Chun-wah, Leung Kui-ting, Ouyang Nai-zhan
New Direction in Contemporary Chinese Tapestry, Hong Kong Arts Centre

1990

Elemental Landscapes: Ink Paintings by Kan Kit-keung
Alice King becomes sole director of Alisan Fine Arts

1991

One Man Exhibition by Huang Rui
The Enchanting World of Walasse Ting
Poetic Imagery by Yang Yan-ping

1992

A Man for All Seasons by Chu Ko
Between Two Cultures: Paintings by Chao Chung-hsiang

1993

A Taoist Way to Colour: Recent Paintings by Hsiao Chin
Visual Enchantment by Wang Dalin
New Landscapes: Painting, Calligraphy & Poetry Pat Hui
The Magical World of Walasse Ting, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Recent Landscapes by Chuang Che

1994

From the Garden
Building the “Rouge Empire”, Hong Kong Arts Centre

1995

Xu Lei: The Mystery of Absence
Drawings, Prints and Sculptures by Bernar Venet, Le French May
Lui Shou-kwan and His School, Hong Kong Arts Centre

1996

Zao Wou-ki, Le French May
Daphne King joins Alisan Fine Arts
Gao Xingjian

1997

Chinese Abstraction & Beyond, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Unlandscapes: A Poetic Expression, Le French May
Walasse Ting
The Chinese Root: Works by Mainland and Overseas Chinese Artists, Shanghai Art Museum
Yu Hui & Xu Lei New Works, Browse & Darby, London
The Art of Enlightened Pleasure

1998

The Tao of Painting, Le French May
Li Huasheng: An Individualistic Artist, The Chinese Culture Centre of San Francisco
Recent Works by Gao Xingjian
Walasse Ting: His Utopian World
Li Huasheng: An Individualistic Artist, Works from 1992-1993

1999

A Contemporary Literati Expressionist: Zeng Mi
Chu Ko: The Unwinding Knot, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Chao Chung-hsiang: His Singular Legacy, Zhejiang West Lake Art Museum, Hangzhou (Traveling)

2000

Chao Chung-hsiang: His Singular Legacy, Hong Kong Arts Centre (Travelling)
Space and Passion: The Art of Hon Chi-fun

2001

Enlightened Blackness: Ink Paintings by Yang Jiechang, Le French May, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong; Alisan Fine Arts
Master of Abstraction by John Way
Alisan Fine Arts opens an additional gallery space in Hing Wai Centre, 7 Tin Wan Praya Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong

2002

Hidden Seed Garden: An Installation by Ming Fay
The Song of the Earth: Chuang Che

2003

Wang Tiande: Ink for the 21st Century
Watercolours by Zao Wou-ki
Tseng Yuho: A Visual Symphony of Form, Line & Dot

2004

Chao Chung-hsiang: The Eternal Searcher, Taipei Museum of History (Travelling)
Chu Teh-chun and His Universe, Le French May, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong

2005

Encre/Chine: Ink Paintings by Jean Degottex, Gao Xingjian and T'ang Haywen, Le French May, The University of Hong Kong, TT Chui Art Gallery

2007

A Lyrical Journey: Chinyee’s 50-Year Retrospective, Shanghai Art Museum

2008

New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond, Hong Kong Museum of Art

2009

Celebrating Zao Wou-ki, Le French May

2010

Walasse Ting: I Love Flowers All My Life, Hong Kong Arts Centre

2011

A Limited Collection of Antonio Mak Sculptures
Selected Asian Cultural Council Fellows: Then and Now, Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong; Alisan Fine Arts

2012

Fang Zhaoling: Vigorous and Fresh Chinese Ink Painting, Fine Art Asia; Alisan Fine Arts

2013

Rhythms of Creation: Recent Works by Chinyee, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Fang Zhaoling, Lui Show-kwan, Man Fung-yi, Masterpiece London
Lui Shou-kwan: Zen Ink Art, Fine Art Asia; Alisan Fine Arts

2014

Mountainscapes: New Ink Art by Wang Tiande
The Ink Discipline: A Series of Rare Original Prints by Fabienne Verdier, Le French May
Beyond the Jade Terrace
Calligraphic Art by Gu Gan

2015

Wei’s Ink Garden: New Works by Wei Ligang
Yang Jiechang: Good Morning Hong Kong, Le French May, Hong Kong Central Library
A Legacy of Ink: Lui Shou Kwan 40 Years On : Exhibition by a New Generation of Artists
A Legacy of Ink: Lui Shou-kwan 40 Years On, Hong Kong Arts Centre; Alisan Fine Arts
Tracing The Brush: Transformed Text, Ink Asia, Hong Kong

2016

Celebrating 35 Years of Promoting Chinese Contemporary Art, Hong Kong Central Library
Wang Mengsha – Gardens
Scenes from the Village
Being and Inking: A Legacy of Ink: Lui Shou-kwan 40 Years On, Redtory Museum of Contemporary Art, Guangzhou
Gao Xingjian — Layers of Light, Ink in Mind
Is It Ink Art? Works by Liu Jian and Zhang Yu
Beyond Babel — Li Dezhuang
Tracing the Brush: Transformed Text — Selected works from Ink Asia
Un/natural Photographs by Stephen King and Ming Thein

2017

Yang Qi: A Profound Life
3-Dimensional Ink
Chao Chung-hsiang Revisited
Emerging Ink Artists
Tai Xiangzhou & Zhang Yirong: One with the Universe
Desiring: Post 97 Hong Kong Ink Art
Walasse Ting: Symphony of Colours, Le French May
Yang Jiechang: This is still Bird and Flower Painting
Images of Objects – Photographic Calligraphy by Chu Chu
Variations in Ink — Selected works from Ink Asia
Alisan Fine Arts moves back to Central and opens a new space in Lyndhurst Tower, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong. Together with the Aberdeen space, Alisan manages two premises

2018

Chinyee: Dances of the Inner Being
Asian Cultural Council Fellows Annual Exhibition 2018: A Charity Exhibition of Works by ACC Alumni
Xu Jianguo: Poetic Cityscapes
Chinese Dream
The Voice of the Brush — Part II
The Voice of the Brush — Part I
Shan Weijun: Between Light and Shade
Forever Icons
Awaiting: New Works by Wang Tiande
HOPE: A charity exhibition celebrating the works of outstanding contemporary Chinese women artists
When Less is More
Stephen King: Rhythms in Nature
Yang Qi: A Profound Life

2019

Yang Xiaojian: Fauvist Ink
Enriching Steles: Ink Art by Lee Chun-yi
Zhang Yu – Fingerprints: Boundaries of Time and Truth
Women + Ink | China + Hong Kong
Departures
Pierre Soulages: Beyond Black, Le French May
Women + Ink | China + Hong Kong
Lui Shou-kwan Pioneer of New Ink: A Centenary Celebration
2000s: Bowie and Beyond | Markus Klinko
Borrowed Landscapes — New Ink by Nan Qi
Chinyee: Dances of the Inner Being

2020

Brushless
Wei Ligang: Silent Mountains, Meandering Rivers
Synchronicity — Award Winning Landscape Photography by Stephen King
Uniquely Hong Kong — A Celebration of Hong Kong Art
Contemporary Forms of Ink Painting
Ineffable Garden — Zhang Jian-Jun and Barbara Edelstein
Asian Cultural Council Fellows: Second Annual Exhibition 2020
Yang Xiaojian: Fauvist Ink
Enriching Steles: Ink Art by Lee Chun-yi

2021

Affordable Art
Lui Shou-kwan: Hong Kong Landscapes
Art and Writing
POP ROCK　An Exhibition About Rocks
Chinese Surrealism
Chu Teh-Chun's Symphony, Le French May Arts Festival
In Conversation—Sam Francis and Walasse Ting: Shared Ideas and Influences
SPECIAL EVENT: Highlight on HK Woman artist Fang Zhaoling
Celebrating a Friendship: Walasse Ting & Sam Francis

2022

Alisan in Wonderland
Contemporary Chinese Art, Cromwell Place, London
Ming Fay : Journey into Nature
Have a Rice Day: Charlotte Mui
Zao Wou-Ki, Le French May Arts Festival
Through the Lenses
Rediscovering Chao Chung-Hsiang
Lui Shou-kwan: Hong Kong Landscapes

2023

Alisan Fine Arts opens a new gallery in New York City

Wang Mengsha: Whispering Blossoms
Walasse Ting: New York, New York, New York Gallery
Hung Keung: Digital Media Art Installation
Beyond Tradition: The Metamorphosis of Ch Cromwell Place, Londoninese Art, Cromwell Place, London
Lin Guocheng: A Dance of Landscapes and Civilisation
Modern Masters from Hong Kong,
Gao Xingjian: Inner Vision 2023
Fan Yan: Jeux Thèmes Variations, Le French May Arts Festival
Ink Alchemy: Beyond Tradition
Chu Chu: Awakening
Alisan in Wonderland

2024

Alisan Atelier, a concept gallery opens in the Southside of Hong Kong while the Headquarters remains in Central, Hong Kong
Shifting Landscapes, New York
Landscape as Metaphor: Contemporary Voices, New Yor
Wucius Wong: Water Thoughts and Mountain Visions, Central, Hong Kong
Light, Space and Time, New York
Yang Jiechang: The Last Tree, Central, Hong Kong
Themes and Variations, New York
A Brush with Nature: Recent Works by Stephen King, Alisan Atelier
Chinyee: Enraptured By Color, New York
Word Play, Central, Hong Kong
Hidden Stories, New York
Word Play: New York, New York
Remaining the Mountain, Becoming the Ocean: Mok Yat-san & Man Fung-yi's Joint Exhibition, Alisan Atelier
Walasse Ting: Joy, Temptation and Magic

中文

About

Co-founded in the 1980s by Alice King, Alisan Fine Arts is Hong Kong's longest-standing contemporary gallery, celebrated for its trailblazing promotion of Chinese contemporary art and New Ink art. The gallery has consistently championed artists from the Greater China region and Chinese diaspora, making an impact on cross-cultural dialogues and global appreciation of diverse artistic expressions. With locations in Hong Kong’s Central and Aberdeen districts, as well as New York, Alisan Fine Arts is committed to expanding its vision by fostering an innovative creative platform and supporting the next generation of Chinese contemporary artists worldwide.

Chronology

Over the years, under the leadership of Alice King, the gallery has organized hundreds of exhibitions in Hong Kong and abroad. In 1996 Daphne King Yao joined the gallery and in 2005 was appointed Director, formally taking over operations in 2011. Since then she has continued to showcase works by artists that Alisan has represented over the years as well as a new generation of Chinese artists with a strong focus on women artists. The newly established Alisan Atelier in Hong Kong’s southside spans over 10,000 square feet, featuring a gallery, library, entertainment space and versatile project areas. This contemporary art salon presents art in a lived environment where artists, collectors, scholars and art enthusiasts gather to exchange ideas, share experiences and collaboratively shape the region’s artistic future.

In 1987 the gallery organized one of the first exhibitions in Hong Kong to showcase contemporary mainland Chinese artists. The landmark exhibition “A State of Transition: Contemporary Paintings from Shanghai” included fourteen artists such as Chen Jialing and Li Shan. Subsequently, in 1989 the gallery put together “Modern Chinese Paintings: A Selection from Beijing, Hangzhou, Sichuan” introducing the works of Peng Xiancheng, Zeng Mi, Nie Ou, Jia Youfu and Jiang Baolin to the Hong Kong public. Both were held at the Hong Kong Arts Centre.

The gallery was also the first to organize a commercial exhibition of Zao Wou-ki's works in Hong Kong in 1993 and since then has held five more solo exhibitions for the acclaimed artist. Alisan has also organized solo exhibitions for well-known artists Chu Teh-chun, Lui Shou-kwan, Walasse Ting, and Chao Chung-hsiang and continues to work closely with the estates of these artists.

Conscious of the power of cross-cultural exchange, the gallery has made a concerted effort to introduce contemporary Chinese art to the West as well as staging exhibitions for Western artists in Hong Kong. Alice King was instrumental in bringing the French sculptor Bernar Venet’s exhibition to the Shanghai Museum in 1995. A strong supporter of Le French May in Hong Kong (a festival organized by the Hong Kong French Consulate to introduce French culture to Hong Kong), Alisan Fine Arts has organized numerous exhibitions for French Chinese artists, including Chu Teh-chun, Gao Xingjian, T’ang Haywen, Yang Jiechang, Zao Wou-ki as well as French artists, Marc Chagall in 1994, Jean Degottex in 2005, Richard Texier in 2007 and Fabienne Verdier in 2014 as part of Le French May program. For her efforts Alice King was awarded by the French Government the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in 1995, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2000 and Officier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur in 2013.

Continued effort has been made for gallery artists to be included in museum collections, these include:

The British Museum, London; The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; The Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts; The Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California; The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, San Francisco; The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers University, New Jersey; The Hong Kong Museum of Art; M+ of Visual Culture Collection, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong; The National Art Museum of China, Beijing; The Shanghai Art Museum; The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Shanghai; The China Academy of Art, Hangzhou; The Taiwan Provincial Fine Art Museum, Taichung; The Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei; The Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark; The Malmo Konsthall, Sweden. Alisan Fine Arts’s corporate clients include the Hong Kong MTR, Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel, JP Morgan and Beijing’s Oriental Plaza to name a few.

Selected Exhibitions:

1987 — A State of Transition: Contemporary Paintings from Shanghai, The Hong Kong Arts Centre
1989 — Modern Chinese Paintings: A selection from Beijing, Hangzhou, Sichuan, The Hong Kong Arts Centre
1995 — Wonders of Chinese Abstraction, Alisan Fine Arts and Kwang Hwa Gallery
1995 — Lui Shou-kwan (1919-1975) and His School, The Hong Kong Arts Centre
1997 — Chinese Abstraction and Beyond, The Hong Kong Arts Centre
1997 — Chinese Roots (To mark the Handover of Hong Kong to China), The Shanghai Art Museum
1998 — Shanghai International Sculpture Symposium
1998 - Mrs. King contributed to the Zao Wou-ki Retrospective exhibitions in China, The Shanghai Art Museum; The Palace of Fine Arts, Beijing; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou
1999 — The Second Year-Long Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, The He Xiangning Art Gallery, Shenzhen
1999 — Chao Chung-hsiang Exhibition and Symposium, The Shanghai Chinese Painting Institute
1999 — Chao Chung-hsiang: His Singular Legacy, The Zhejiang West Lake Art Museum, Hangzhou
2000 — Oriental Plaza: Selected Contemporary Sculpture from China, The Oriental Plaza, Beijing
2001 — John Way: A Retrospective at 80, The Shanghai Art Museum
2004 — Chao Chung-hsiang: An Eternal Searcher, The Taipei Museum of History
2004 — Love of the Cosmos: The Art of Chao Chung-hsiang, The National Art Museum of China, Beijing; The Shanghai Art Museum; Galerie Adler, Paris and the Hong Kong Arts Centre
2007 — Floating Reeds: An Installation by Ming Fay, MOCA, Shanghai
2007 — Exploration: New Ink Art Shanghai 2007, The Zhu Qizhan Art Museum, Shanghai
2007 — The New Face of Ink Painting: Modern Ink Painting Group Exhibition and Symposium, Central Plaza Lobby & Olympic City 1, Hong Kong
2007 — A Lyrical Journey: Chinyee’s 50-Year Retrospective, The Shanghai Art Museum and Alisan Fine Arts
2010 — Walasse Ting: I Love Flowers All My Life, The Hong Kong Arts Centre
2011 — Selected Asian Cultural Council Fellows: Then and Now, Works by Wei Ligang, Wei Qingji, Zhang Jianqun, Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong and Alisan Fine Arts
2015 — Yang Jiechang: Good Morning Hong Kong – Le French May, Hong Kong Central Library and Alisan Fine Arts
2015 — A Legacy of Ink: Lui Shou-kwan 40 Years On. An Exhibition of Lui Shou- kwan, His Students and a New Generation of Artists, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and Alisan Fine Arts
2016 — Alisan Fine Arts Thirty Five Years, Hong Kong Central Library
2017 — Yang Jiechang: This is still Bird and Flower Painting
2017 — Walasse Ting: Symphony of Colours
2018 — Asian Cultural Council Fellows Annual Exhibition 2018: A Charity Exhibition of Works by ACC Alumni
2019 — Lui Shou-kwan Pioneer of New Ink: A Centenary Celebration
2019 — Pierre Soulages: Beyond Black
2020 — Asian Cultural Council Fellows: Second Annual Exhibition 2020
2021 — Celebrating a Friendship
2021 — Chu Teh-Chun's Symphony
2021 — Lui Shou-kwan: Hong Kong Landscapes
2022 — Rediscovering Chao Chung-Hsiang
2022 — Zao Wou-Ki
2023 — Ming Fay : Journey into Nature
2023 — Ink Alchemy: Beyond Tradition
2023 — Walasse Ting: New York, New York
2024 — Shifting Landscapes
2024 — Word Play
2024 — Walasse Ting: Joy, Temptation and Magic

Alisan Fine Arts has participated in the following Art Fairs over the years:
Art Basel Hong Kong, 2013-25; Ink Asia, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2023-24; Fine Art Asia, 2009, 2012, 2014-15, 2022, 2024; Art021, 2017-20 and 2023; Art SG, 2023-25; Asia Now Paris, 2022; Taipei Dangdai, 2019-20; Art West Lake • The 2nd International Ink Wash Fair, 2019; West Bund Art & Design Fair, 2018; Masterpiece London, 2013; Art HK, 2010 and 2012; Tresors,Singapore, 1993-95, 1997; International Asian Art Fair, New York, 1996; Art Taipei, 1994, 2017; and Art Asia, Hong Kong, 1992.

Visit us

Hong Kong, Central

21/F Lyndhurst Tower, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Aberdeen | Alisan Atelier

1904 Hing Wai Centre, 7 Tin Wan Praya Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong

New York

120 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065

What’s new

Alice King

Founder

Founder Alice King is a true patron of the arts. Born in Shanghai and raised in Hong Kong, she received a BA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and MSc in Library Science from the University of Michigan. After graduation, she worked at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York for a year before returning to Hong Kong in the 1970s with her husband and children.

Mrs King is the Honorary Chairman of the Ink Society, prior to serving as its Chairman (2007-2018), Trustee of the Friends of Hong Kong Museum of Art (2009-2013), Director, Association Culturelle France, Hong Kong Limited (2004-2016), and Honorary Governor of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta (1999-present). In the past she served as Art Adviser to the Arts Development Council (2003-2004), Founding Member of The Opera Hong Kong (2003), Member of Museum sub-committee of the Culture and Heritage Commission of Hong Kong (2001-2002), Chairman of the Board of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta (1997-99), Vice-Chairman of Friends’ Committee of Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong (1987-88), Steering Committee of Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong (1998), Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Arts Centre Gallery Committee (1985-86), Chairman of the Ladies Committee of The Hong Kong Arts Festival (1982-83), and Chairman of the Ladies Committee of the Hong Kong Philharmonic (1979-80).

For her tireless contribution to the arts, Mrs King was awarded by the French government the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in 1995, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2000 and Officier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur in 2013, Gold Dragon Award (as an outstanding overseas Chinese) by Literature & Artists Association of Hong Kong in 1999, and Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award in 2004.

Over the years, Mrs. King has been involved in many professional projects including:

2008 — Curator, New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond (The Hong Kong Museum of Art)
2007 — Curator, A Lyrical Journey: Chinyee’s 50-Year Retrospective (The Shanghai Art Museum)
2007 — Co-organizer, Floating Reeds- An Installation by Ming Fay (The Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai)
2007 — Curator, Exploration: New Ink Art Shanghai (The Zhu Qizhan Art Museum, Shanghai)
2007 — Moderator of symposium, The New Face of Ink Painting – Modern Ink Painting Group Exhibition and Symposium (Central Plaza Lobby & Olympic City 1, Hong Kong)
2004 — Curator/co-presenter, Love of the Cosmos: The Art of Chao Chung-hsiang (The National Art Museum of China, Beijing; The Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai; Galerie Adler, Paris & The Hong Kong Arts Centre)
2004 — Co-presenter, Chao Chung-hsiang: An Eternal Searcher (The National Museum of History, Taipei)
2001 — Co-presenter, John Way: A Retrospective at 80 (The Shanghai Art Museum)
2001 — Curator, Enlightened Blackness: Ink Paintings by Yang Jiechang – Le French May, University Museum and Art Gallery (The University of Hong Kong)
2000 — Organizing committee － Shanghai Biennale (he Shanghai Art Museum)
2000 — Coordinating committee, Chu Teh-chun (The Shanghai Museum)
2000 — Curator, Oriental Plaza: Selected Contemporary Sculpture from China (Oriental Plaza, Beijing)
Nov 1999-Jan 2000 — Curator, Chao Chung-hsiang: His Singular Legacy (The Zhejiang West Lake Art Museum, Hangzhou)
1999 — Coordinating committee, The Centenary of Lin Fengmian: Exhibition of Lin Feng Mian & Chao Chung-hsiang and symposium (The Shanghai Chinese Painting Institute)
1999 — Organizing committee, The Second Annual China Contemporary Sculpture (The He Xiangning Art Gallery, Shenzhen)
1998 — Honorary Committee, A Century in Crisis, Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China (The Guggenheim Museum, USA)
1998 — Organizing committee (Shanghai International Sculpture Symposium)
1998 — Coordinating committee, Exposition Zao Wou-ki En Chine (The Shanghai Museum)
1997 — Co-curator, Chinese Roots: Works from Mainland and Oversea Chinese Artists (The Shanghai Art Museum)
1995 — Coordinator, Bernar Venet: Indeterminate Lines (The Shanghai Museum)

Daphne King

Global Director

Born in America, Daphne has lived in Hong Kong since the age of five. She graduated from Philips Academy, Andover and the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in History. After graduation she worked in the advertising industry in New York and Hong Kong. In 1996, she joined Alisan Fine Arts and was promoted to Director in 2005; in 2011 she formally took over operations at the gallery. She has since curated several landmark exhibitions, the most recent being the celebration of Alisan Fine Arts 35th Anniversary at the Central Public Library in 2016, accompanied by the launch of a 300-page monologue highlighting the gallery’s history. Other exhibitions include Fang Zhaoling, Vigorous and Fresh Chinese Ink Painting held at Fine Art Asia and Alisan Fine Arts in 2012; Yang Jiechang: Good Morning Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Central Library and Alisan Fine Arts in 2015; A Legacy of Ink: Lui Shou-kwan 40 Years On at the Hong Kong Arts Centre and Alisan Fine Arts in 2015; and Lui Shou-kwan, Pioneer of New Ink: A Centenary Celebration at Alisan Fine Arts in 2019.

A patron of the arts, Daphne was named the Chair of the Asian Cultural Council (HK) Foundation Limited in April, 2023, after having been a patron since 2015 and a co-chair of their fundraising gala. She was also a Friend of the Hong Kong Museum of Art from 1997-2000 and is currently a Trustee of the Friends. In 2011 she was appointed Director of The Ink Society and now serves as Vice-Chairman. She has been a keen supporter of the Hong Kong Ballet since 2002, serving as co-chair of the Ballet Guild from 2011-2015, and was a board member from 2012-2017. In 2016 she was appointed Director of the Association Culturelle France Hong Kong Ltd. Daphne founded the University of Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund in Hong Kong, serving as President from 2002-2014. In recognition of her success as an art visionary, she received the 2018 Women of Hope award in the category of Art and Culture, and in the same year was invited by Net-a-Porter as a guest speaker for their "Incredible Women Talks." In 2019 Daphne was selected by the World Women Leadership Congress for the Hong Kong Women Leadership Award. In 2023 she served as a judge for American Chamber of Commerce’s Women of Influence awards.

Daphne has curated several landmark exhibitions, including:

2023 — Ink Alchemy: Beyond Tradition (Alisan Fine Arts)
2023 — Ming Fay : Journey into Nature (Alisan Fine Arts)
2022 — Zao Wou-Ki (Alisan Fine Arts)
2022 — Rediscovering Chao Chung-Hsiang (Alisan Fine Arts)
2021 — Lui Shou-kwan: Hong Kong Landscapes (Alisan Fine Arts)
2021 — Chu Teh-Chun's Symphony (Alisan Fine Arts)
2021 — Celebrating a Friendship: Walasse Ting and Sam Francis (Alisan Fine Arts)
2020 — Asian Cultural Council Fellows: Second Annual Exhibition 2020 (Alisan Fine Arts)
2019 — Pierre Soulages: Beyond Black (Alisan Fine Arts)
2019 — Lui Shou-kwan Pioneer of New Ink: Centenary Celebration (Alisan Fine Arts)
2018 — Asian Cultural Council (ACC) First Annual Alumni Showcase (Alisan Fine Arts)
2017 — Desiring: Post '97 Hong Kong Ink Art (Alisan Fine Arts)
2015 — Ink Asia – Tracing the Brush, Transformed Text (Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre)
2015 — A Legacy of Ink: Lui Shou-kwan 40 Years On: An exhibition of Lui Shou-kwan, his students’, and a new generation of artists (Hong Kong Arts Centre)
2015 — Yang Jiechang: Good Morning Hong Kong－Le French May (Hong Kong Central Library and Alisan Fine Arts)
2014 — Mountainscapes, New Ink Art by Wang Tiande (Alisan Fine Arts)
2014 — The Ink Discipline: A series of rare original prints by Fabienne Verdier－Le French May (Alisan Fine Arts)
2014 — Beyond the Jade Terrace, works by Chu Chu, Wang Mengsha, Yao Yuan, Zhang Yirong (Curated by Tiffany Beres) (Alisan Fine Arts)
2013 — Rhythms of Creation – Paintings by Chinyee (Hong Kong Arts Centre and Alisan Fine Arts)
2013 — Lui Shou-kwan – Zen Ink Art, Fine Art Asia (Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre)
2012 — Fang Zhaoling, Vigorous and Fresh Chinese Ink Painting, Fine Art Asia (Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre)
2011 — Selected Asian Cultural Council Fellows: Then and Now, Works by Wei Ligang, Wei Qingji, Zhang Jianqun (Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong and Alisan Fine Arts)

Daniel Chen

Director

Daniel Chen was born and raised in Toronto and currently resides in New York where he is the inaugural gallery director of Alisan Fine Arts' New York gallery, which opened in November 2023. Having opened its first location outside of Hong Kong, where it has been established since 1981, Chen is thrilled to usher in a new chapter for the gallery.

Chen graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2002 and moved to New York City where he worked as a songwriter, music producer and musician. His music has been featured on television and radio, and Chen has recorded and performed throughout the US and Europe with singers Mike Doughty and Nicole Atkins.

In 2011, Chen transitioned to the art world, curating an exhibition for artist Zheng Chongbin at Baangh Gallery in New York. In 2012 he directed and co-founded an art consultancy called D3E Art with several partners in Hong Kong. As D3E’s director, Chen oversaw several large-scale public art commissions for the Lingnan Tiandi arts district in China and placed significant artworks into the collections of the Hong Kong Museum of Art and M+ in Hong Kong.

Establishing himself as a leader in his field, Chen returned to New York in 2016 to become the director of Chambers Fine Art, an established art gallery focused on Contemporary Chinese Art. While at Chambers, he curated exhibitions for artists including Wang Dongling (together with Brice Marden), Wu Jian’an, Zhao Zhao, Fu Xiaotong and Pixy Liao. He also oversaw several projects for Ai Weiwei including a solo exhibition at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown in 2018, a public installation at Taipei Dangdai in 2020, and the book project Ai Weiwei: Beijing Photographs, published by MIT Press in 2019.

Daniel has been involved in many professional projects including:

2024 - Light, Space and Time (Alisan Fine Arts New York)
2024 - Landscape as Metaphor (Alisan Fine Arts New York)
2024 – Lui Shou-Kwan, Shifting Landscapes (Alisan Fine Arts New York)
2023 - Walasse Ting: New York, New York (Alisan Fine Arts New York)
2022 - Wu Jian’an: 500 Brushstrokes (Chambers Fine Art, New York)
2022 - Fu Xiaotong: Nun-3 (Chambers Fine Art, New York)
2021 - Curator, Zheng Chongbin: Levity and Gravity (Shin Gallery, New York, NY)
2021 - Miranda Zhang: Scattered Lines (Candice Madey Gallery, New York, NY)
2020 - Pixy Liao, Old Wife, New House (Chambers Fine Art, New York, NY)
2020 - Curator, Lucy Liu: One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others (Napa Valley Museum, Yountville, CA)
2020 - Ai Weiwei: Law of the Journey (Taipei Dangdai, Taipei, Taiwan)
2019 - Wu Jian’an: Infinite Labyrinth (Chambers Fine Art, New York, NY)
2019 - Wang Gongyi : Winsor Blue (Chambers Fine Art, New York, NY)
2019 - Co-Curator, Unhomed Belongings: Lucy Liu and Shubigi Rao (National Museum of Singapore, Singapore)
2018 - Ai Weiwei: Rebar and Case (Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA)
2018 - Fu Xiaotong: Proliferation (Chambers Fine Art, New York)
2018 - Wang Dongling, Brice Marden: Poetry and Painting (Chambers Fine Art, New York)
2017 - Curator, Yang Jiechang: The Whip (Chambers Fine Art, New York, NY)
2017 - Endurance: New Works by Xie Xiaoze (Chambers Fine Art, New York, NY)
2017 - Ho Sintung: Surfaced (Chambers Fine Art, New York, NY)
2016 - Wu Jian’an: Ten Thousand Things (Chambers Fine Art, New York, NY)
2016 - Exotica: Recent works of Li Huayi (Kwai Fung Hin, Hong Kong)
2015 - Curator, A Garden Window: Lin Yan & Wei Jia (Kwai Fung Hin, Hong Kong)
2015 - Lam Tungpang, The Curiosity Box: Hometown Tourist (D3E Art, Hong Kong)
2014 - Co-Curator, Zheng Chongbin, New Works (D3E Art, Hong Kong)
2014 - Co-Curator, Chen Shaoxiong, Chen Yujun (D3E Art, Hong Kong)
2013 - Gu Wenda: Xiao Dao (Lingnan Tiandi, Foshan, China)
2013 - Chen Shaoxiong, Collective Memory: Foshan (Lingnan Tiandi, Foshan, China)
2013 - Curator, Zheng Chongbin, Selected Works (Baahng Art Gallery, New York, NY)