Nine Abysses
Highlight of the Month - Chui Pui Chee
2022.05.04 - 2022.05.29
Touch Gallery is honoured to present Hong Kong artist Chui Pui Chee's solo exhibition ‘Nine Abysses’, which showcases a large horizontal scroll of the famous ‘Nine Abysses’ ink landscape series, which is his latest blue-green shan shui painting. The artist draws from the conception of Nine Abysses, a sacred place where the divine dragons hide according to the myths. He imagines a majestic and magnificent scenery, and expresses his feelings through the natural landscape, leading the audience to roam in the transcendent spiritual world.
The blue-green shan shui painting is mainly using mineral dyes in blues and greens, which is refreshing and tranquil. Chui's paintings are based on traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, while containing the charm and delicacy of Song Dynasty landscape paintings. They are drawn in light ink into layers of mountains surrounded with clouds and fog, the blue and green are slightly applied to the endless mountains, it provokes the audience to imagine in the midst of a cloudy and green atmosphere.
Also, the spacious scroll gives the artist more freedom and challenges in composition and expression, while Chui creates from a modern perspective, using a mobile phone camera-like frame to present the scenery piece by piece and replace the traditional way of appreciation, it illustrates the humour derived from the differences of the times. The composition of the painting is majestic yet elegant. It not only shows the light and distance with the rich layers of ink and brushstrokes, but there are also more than a hundred pine trees of various shapes rooted in the undulating hills and valleys, which are delicately depicted and rendered one by one with thick ink. Such finishing depicts the green and upright vitality of the pine tree, in addition, it shows its perseverance standing in Nine Abysses despite the cloudy and uncertain weather.
The exhibition showcases the panoramic view of ‘Nine Abysses’ paintings, and the audience surrounded by the paintings can imagine being in the artistic world of the paintings. When we gaze at the green and blue in the misty haze, we may feel as if the breeze is coming, and we can breathe freely in nature.
Also featuring the wood sculptures of the renowned Japanese artist Yuta Nishiura, he combines his beautiful childhood memories and his experience of travelling in various places to show the unprecedented scenery through his artworks.
About Chui Pui Chee
1980 Born in Hong Kong
1999 Queen’s College
2003 B.A., Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2007 M.A., Department of Chinese Calligraphy, China Academy of Art
2010 PhD, Department of Chinese Calligraphy, China Academy of Art
Selected Awards
2020 Finalist of The 2020 Sovereign Asian Art Prize
2018 Finalist of The 2018 Sovereign Asian Art Prize
2016 Award for Young Artist (Visual Arts) of the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2015
2015 Finalist of The 2015 Sovereign Asian Art Prize
2012 ‘Young Artist Award’, Hong Kong Contemporary Art Awards 2012
Auction
2018 There's Snow Again V, Christie’s Hong Kong, First Open
2017 There's Snow Again VIII, Christie’s Hong Kong, Autumn Sale
2017 There's Snow Again VI, Christie’s Hong Kong, Spring Sale
2016 There's Snow Again IV, Christie’s Hong Kong, Autumn Sale
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2022 ‘Nine Abysses’，Touch Gallery, Hong Kong
2018 ‘Bedtime Stories’, Grotto Fine Art, Hong Kong
2015 ‘My Tiresome at the Bottom of the Valley’, Grotto Fine Art, Hong Kong
2013 ‘Chui Pui-chee – In Calligraphy In Me’, Grotto Fine Art, Hong Kong
2011 ‘Review and Prospects: Works of Chinese Calligraphy by Chui Pui-chee 2011’, Hong Kong
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 ‘Now Showing 2.0’, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong
2021 ‘Flower, Not’, iPreciation, Singapore
2021 ‘Now Showing’, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong
2020 ‘HAPPEN with HART Dawn Chorus | Chui Pui-chee x Batten and Kamp’, HART Hall, H Queen’s, Hong Kong
2020 ‘The 2020 Sovereign Asian Art Prize: Shortlisted Finalists Exhibition’, K11 HACC, Hong Kong
2019 ‘Classics Remix: The Hong Kong Viewpoint’, Hong Kong Museum of Art
2019 ‘Together We March Forward: New Asia 70th Anniversary Art Exhibition’, HART Hall, H Queen’s, Hong Kong
2018 ‘The 2018 Sovereign Asian Art Prize: Shortlisted Finalists Exhibition’, HART Hall, H Queen’s, Hong Kong
2017 'Ensuring the Best Influence for Her Son Mencius', Ink Asia 2017, Hong Kong
2017 ‘Hong Kong Cancer Fund Charity Auction’, Hong Kong
2015 ‘Senses, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong
2015 ‘A Tale of Two Cities – Painting and Calligraphy by Shanghai and Hong Kong Artists’, Hong Kong
2015 ‘Calm Non-action’, Hong Kong
2015 ‘INKcarnation: Literary Tattoos’, Hong Kong
2015 ‘The 2015 Sovereign Asian Art Prize: Shortlisted Finalists Exhibition’, Hong Kong
2015 ‘Hong Kong Cancer Fund Charity Auction’, Hong Kong
2015 ‘Calligraphy and non-Calligraphy: 2015 Hangzhou International Modern Calligraphy Exhibition’, Hangzhou, China
2014 ‘Elephant Parade Hong Kong’, Hong Kong
2014 ‘SCMP Charity Art Auction’, Hong Kong
2013 ‘International Modern Calligraphy Exhibition’, Hangzhou, China
2013 ‘Calligraphy Exhibition of Contemporary Calligraphers from Hong Kong’, Hong Kong
2013 ‘Hong Kong Cancer Fund Charity Auction’, Hong Kong
2013 ‘Hong Kong Contemporary Art Awards 2012’, Hong Kong Museum of Art
2012 ‘Artworks by 9 Hong Kong Alumni of China Academy of Art 2012’, Hong Kong
2012 ‘With the boundary –Biennial Exhibition of Lanting Calligraphy Society’, Hangzhou
2012 ‘International Calligraphy Exhibition’, Shinjang
2012 ‘Calligraphy Exhibition of Art Museum of Zhang Hai’, Henan
2010 ‘Calligraphy Exhibition of Hong Kong Contemporary Calligraphers’, Hong Kong
2010 ‘Calligraphy, non-Calligraphy - International Modern Calligraphy Exhibition’, Hangzhou
2010 ‘Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards 2009’, Hong Kong Museum of Art
2006 ‘Works of Chinese Calligraphy of Jiazi Society’, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2006 ‘International Calligraphy and Seal Carving Exhibition of Xiling Society of Seal Arts’, Hangzhou
2005 ‘Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition 2005’, Hong Kong Museum of Art
2003 ‘Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition 2003’, Hong Kong Museum of Art