Colorful times of Hong Kong chameleon
Luis Chan's "Orient" (1969), Acrylic on Paper.
Starting out in life as a sign painter, in a career spanning 60 years, Hong Kong artist Luis Chan, or Chen Fushan, assumed a range of different roles, not just as an artist, but also a critic, educator and curator.
The retrospective exhibition “Luis Chan (1905-1995): PSA Collection Series” at the city’s Power Station of Art showcases nearly 90 of the artist’s celebrated works under three themes, namely “Fantasy Homeland,” “Hong Kong Kaleidoscope” and “Abstract Illusionism.”
Chan was born in Panama in 1905 and moved to Hong Kong at the age of 5.
Having never received any formal art training, he developed his skills and his unique style by means such as taking overseas correspondence courses, subscribing to foreign art magazines, joining artist associations and cultural events and writing art criticism.
Book in Chinese "Treatise on Art" by Luis Chan, published in 1953 in Hong Kong.
A stamp bearing Luis Chan's painting (second from right) issued in 1989 by the Philatelic Bureau at the General Post Office of Hong Kong.
Chan’s early paintings were mainly watercolor and oil landscapes and figures in a realistic style.
He often went out to paint local scenery, taking nature as his mentor. He captured Hong Kong’s natural landscape of the time vividly.
In the mid-1950s, Hong Kong witnessed aggressive urbanization and modernization. Ultimately, the development of information technology as well as the rise of international exchanges brought more Western modern art into Hong Kong’s art scene.
Confronted with dramatic changes of both the times and society, Chan also sought to change himself.
When he first learned to make abstract art in his late 50s, he jokingly said: “There are no clear rules for abstract art so long as you can make the paper dirty with bold lines and colors.”
As a result of the freedom abstract expressionism brought, he began exploring styles such as Cubism, Surrealism, Structuralism, and experimented with various methods including collage, engraving and spray painting with his unique touch.
In his later works, you may see traces of Van Gogh’s use of color, Picasso’s distorted faces, Chinese legendary creatures and stunning fantasy landscape.
Chan was humorous and loved music, dance and parties. His works covered wonders of the world — touching on not only the city and nature, but also musical rhythms and dreamlike fantasies — revealing his ever-optimistic mentality despite the always changing circumstances.
From his first solo debut exhibition in 1935 until his final show in 1993 at the age of 89, Luis Chan presented 47 solo exhibitions.
Luis Chan, Untitled, 1978, Mixed Media and Collage on Paper.
Starting out in life as a sign painter, in a career spanning 60 years, Hong Kong artist Luis Chan, or Chen Fushan, assumed a range of different roles, not just as an artist, but also a critic, educator and curator.
Exhibition Info
Date: Through June 23 (closed on Mondays), 11am-9pm
Venue: 5/F, Power Station of Art
Address: 678 Miaojiang Rd
