From Reality to Fantasy: The Art of Luis Chan, produced by the AAA is the first comprehensive bi-lingual publication to look in-depth at one of the most important artists of the 20th Century in Hong Kong.
In celebration of Luis Chan's (1905-1995) 100th birthday and to pay tribute to his contribution to the HK art scene, the Asia Art Archive began work on this research and publication project at the end of 2004. Jack Lee, as Editor, and Phoebe Wong, as Project Manager worked closely together with the family of Luis Chan, to produce this monograph. Designed by Clement Yick, the monograph includes commissioned texts by Prof. John Clark (Australia), Lu Peng (China), Laurence Tam (Canada/HK), Johnson Chang Tsongzung (HK) and Jack Lee, as well as over 200 images of Chan's works of which a majority have never been published before. Included in the book are family memoirs, Luis's writings, excerpts from important texts on the artist and photographs spanning his life.
"Luis Chan (Chen Fushan, 1905-1995) appears in Hong Kong art circles in the 1930s
and never disappears until his passing away in 1995. Unquestionably he was as
major a figure as Lui Shou-kwan (1919-1975) in communicating notions of modernist
art to Hong Kong and defining how they might be transformed with Hong Kong subjects." – Prof.
John Clark, Excerpt taken from his essay
" I have always felt that a comprehensive catalogue of Luis Chan's art was needed.
As early as the 1930s he was already an active participant in Hong Kong art circles,
and for over half a century he continued to be deeply engaged in art, staging
numerous exhibitions of his paintings and publishing many books and articles
on the subject. After the artist's retirement in the mid-1980s, his paintings
continued to be exhibited extensively both in Hong Kong and internationally…" – Jack
Lee, Excerpt taken from the Editor's Preface.
The book was launched on the 24th
of August 2006 at the Hong Kong Design Centre and is available from for sale
from the AAA. Please contact info@aaa.org.hk
Related links:
The publication |
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| From
Reality to Fantasy: The Art of Luis Chan,
book cover. |
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| Untitled (probably Shaukiwan) by Luis Chan, 1950. |
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| Luis Chan sketching in the street at Shaukiwan during the 1940s. |
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| Untitled
by Luis Chan, 1978. |
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A
scene at the book launch on the 24th August 2006. |
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| From left:
Christina Lam (granddaughter of Luis Chan), Wong Yan-long,
The Attorney General, Clara Chan (daughter of Luis Chan). |
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From left:
Ronald Arculli, Johnson Chang, Christina Lam, Clara Chan,
Jack Lee (Editor of book). |
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From left:
Mark Clifford, David Tang, Claire Hsu, Jane DeBevoise. |
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