Hui, Pat

1943

Hong Kong

Born in 1943 in Hong Kong, Pat Hui is an ink painter known for her colourful paintings. Wucius Wong, who she often collaborates with, wrote “her colours are sometimes in quiet pastel shades, but generally tend to exhibit a strong radiant quality, evoking a sense of pathos often expressed in Song poems with themes of solitude, remorsefulness, and desolation, employing images of distinctive colour sensations such as falling petals, willows, autumn leaves, the setting sun, the moon.”（Wucius Wong, Pat Hui, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong, 1993, .P.6）

Hui began studying painting under Lui Shou-Kwan in 1961 after Wong introduced them. Following undergraduate studies in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong, she attended the University of Minnesota where she completed a PhD in Western Philosophy with a minor in Chinese and Indian Buddhism. In 1974, she studied Studio Art and Design at the same university. In 1978, she moved to Canada and began designing clothes using her own technique of painting on silk. Since then she has founded her own fine art gallery Hui Arts in Canada and the United States, and the art studio Traffic Zone Centre for Visual Arts in Minneapolis. All the while she has continued painting, combining her ink art with her studies in philosophy and literature.

Alisan Fine Arts began representing Pat Hui in the 1980s. We have also organised several shows, including two joint exhibitions of collaborative works by Hui and Wucius Wong in 1987 and 2005 respectively. Significantly, her works were featured in two exhibitions documenting Lui Shou-Kwan's work and influence in 1995 and 2015. When asked about Alice King, Hui says “we share many common interests and artistic goals… these include giving a venue to the artists to show their works [and] introducing the artists to a wider audience. Throughout the thirty-five years, Alice has successfully achieved these goals and much more.”

Hui’s works have been exhibited in over twenty solo and group exhibitions, including at the first “Art Toronto” in 1980, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as in galleries across the United States. Her works have been collected by Minneapolis Institute of Arts; The Marsh, Minneapolis; Hongkong Land; American Express, Hong Kong; BHF Bank, Hong Kong.

Works included in gallery monograph Alisan Fine Arts 35 Years, 2016

BIOGRAPHY
1943 Born in Hong Kong
1961-62 Learned Chinese painting from Lui Shou-Kwan
1963 Member of Modern Literature and Art Association, Hong Kong
1964 Studied at the University of Hong Kong, major: Western philosophy; minor: Chinese philosophy
1967-71 Graduate School, University of Minnesota, United States, major: Western philosophy; minor: Chinese and Indian Buddhism
1974 Studio Art and Design Department, University of Minnesota, United States
1980 Founded Hui Arts, Toronto, Canada
Participated in Art Toronto ‘80
1981-86 Founded Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States, representing contemporary Chinese artists from all over the world
1997 Founded Hui Arts Studio at Traffic Zone Centre for Visual Arts, Minneapolis, United States
2016 Included in the gallery monograph Alisan Fine Arts 35 Years, Hong Kong
Present Lives in Minneapolis, United States, working as an artist, writer and translator

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024

Solo exhibition, Johnston Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States

2010

Exhibition with Paul Kwok, Traffic Zone Gallery, Minneapolis, United States

2007

By the Water: Colourful Seasons in Minnesota, Works by Pat Hui and Paul Kwok, Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2005

The Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art of Pat Hui, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, United States

2003

To Live and to Create: Painting/Poetry/Calligraphy/Translation by Pat Hui, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

2002

Painting/Poetry/Calligraphy, Marsh Gallery, Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States

1998-2015

Annual Spring Exhibition with Paul Kwok, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

1997

Painting/Poetry/Calligraphy/Translation/Fashion/Photography by Pat Hui, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

1993

New Landscapes, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1986

Spring: Poetry, Painting, Calligraphy, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

1985

The Shadow of Poetry: Fashion Design, Painting, Calligraphy, Honeywell Corporate Gallery, Minneapolis, United States

1984

The Poet’s Vision: Painting, Poetry, Calligraphy, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

1983

Painting and Fashion, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024

Annual Open Studios, Traffic Zone Gallery, Minneapolis, United States

2023

Convergence, Traffic Zone Gallery, Minneapolis, United States

2022-2023

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

2021

Affordable Art, Alisan Fine Arts-Aberdeen, Hong Kong

2020

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

2018

HOPE A charity exhibition celebrating the works of outstanding contemporary Chinese women artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2015

A Legacy of Ink: Lui Shou-Kwan 40 Years On, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2009

Selected Hong Kong Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2008

Women Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2005

The Poetic Vision: Poetry/Painting/Calligraphy with Wucius Wong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2004

125 Group Exhibition, Poetry (English & Chinese) /Painting by Paul Kwok/Calligraphy by Pat Hui, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

2000

145 Group Exhibition, Poetry (English & Chinese) /Painting by Paul Kwok/Calligraphy by Pat Hui, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

1995

Lui Shou-Kwan (1919-1975) & His School, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1988

Three Friends: with Robert Lesch, Paul Kwok, Red Carpet Gallery, Minneapolis, United States

1987

The Poetic Vision: Poetry, Painting, Calligraphy with Wucius Wong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
The opening show, Forum Gallery, Minneapolis, United States

1985

Shui Mo: The New Spirit of Chinese Tradition, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong
Painting/Poetry/Calligraphy with Wucius Wong, Lu Weiming, Hui Arts, Minneapolis, United States

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, United States
The Marsh, Minneapolis, United States
Hongkong Land, Hong Kong
American Express Bank, Hong Kong
BHF Bank, Hong Kong