“Qī Shí” Raymond Fung: A Retrospective - In Between Art and Architecture

 

 

The exhibition "Qī Shí" picks up Raymond Fung's memories of the past seven decades. Analogous to a ping pong match, in between the back and forth of a game, one gets to savour his dialogue on his path in between architecture and art. The exhibition covers paintings, large-scale installations, architecture models, sculptures, rapidographs and other works; in terms of architecture, 24 meaningful architectural works have been selected for display out of over 70 projects he had taken part in; rare rapidographs from his early days include the "Island North" from 1985 and two mansion manuscripts from 1978. Also on display in the venue are models of the Hong Kong Wetland Park, the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade Beautification Project and the Archivilla, where Raymond's perspective and persistence in architecture have been illustrated through these designs.

 

 

In terms of installations, the " Dialogue with Wu Guanzhong ", a light and shadow play previously exhibited at the Hong Kong Museum of Art has been transformed into “Ping Pong”, an installation that echoes with the exhibition theme of being in between architecture and art. Seven pieces of roof tiles that have been “picked up” from the installation are rearranged at the entrance, each representing an individual decade of his life journey.

 

In terms of paintings, the exhibition covers Raymond's ink paintings since the 60s, including his earliest work - the "Waterfall" (1971), which is a piece influenced by traditional ink painting. In the 70s, his traditional ink painting style was transformed into the freehand form of the Lingnan school; and in the 80s, with his first solo exhibition the “Emergence” held at the The Landmark in 1985 where his work “Beyond Horizon” was displayed, he began entering an exploratory stage in art, as well as a critical turning point in his life. Since then, Raymond has gradually developed his own artistic style crystalised from his past experiences, such has been evident in his works “The Great Land Romance" (1989) and "The Great Land Series No.19" (1992). His creations have always directly reflected his feelings and values, including a series of depictions of Hong Kong illustrating the concept of being "born and bred " here in his hometown, "Between Heaven and Earth" (2015)", “Here is Double Heaven " (2015) and "Sam Pui Chau" (2017) are clear evidences of such sentiment. In addition to the aforesaid, Raymond's recent works have also focused on the reflections on the epoch of “Anthropocene" which has been illustrated in his works of "Global Warming", the "Breathing Series" and the "Life Series", all of which have employed creative and experimental media to interpret universal values.

 

 

Furthermore, the focus and centre-piece of this exhibition - a painting made up of seven individual panels named “Qī Shí”, has been created by Raymond to mark his seventieth birthday. The aforementioned piece which is measured at more than 6 metres in length will be displayed along the corridor at the entrance, where one can stroll through and feel every stroke of the brush and every drop of ink while embracing the passage of time. The said painting echoes with the seven pieces of tiles that have been “picked up” from the installation “Ping Pong”, representing the past seven decades of his life. At the end of the corridor you will be greeted by a documentary created by Mr. Stanley Wong (also known as anothermountainman) showcasing Raymond’s life in between architecture and art through multiple perspectives.

 

 

 

 

 

As a touring exhibition, it will contiue as "Qī Shí" Raymond Fung: An Idyllic State of Mind, Coloured by Time and Space, to be held in Guangdong Museum of Art, from 26 May - 16 June.

 

The exhibition is curated by Pi Daojian with the support of Wang Shaoqiang (academic host), and Another Mountain Man (Stanley Wong- art consultant). It is the first solo show of a living Hong Kong ink painting artist to be held at Guangdong Museum of Art, and leads the promotion of cultural and artistic exchange in the Greater Bay Area.