A Match Made in Painting: Selected Works of Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu from the Jingguanlou Collection

Overview

  • Date
    2023.07.142024.01.03
  • Venue
    Jingguanlou Gallery, 4/F
  • Fee
    Free
In the history of Chinese painting, there are quite some painter couples. Few, however, have the husband and wife matching each other in artistic accomplishment as did Xie Zhiliu (1910 – 1997) and Chen Peiqiu (1923 – 2020), both of whom were leading calligrapher-painters of the Shanghai School in their own right. On his part and on hers, they found in each other not only a companion on their journey of life but also a soulmate during their exploration of art. Treading their own paths, they devoted themselves to studying and advancing traditional Chinese art, eventually achieving individuality through their compatible yet dissimilar practice of brush and ink. More than just artists, both husband and wife were eminent authenticators and researchers, contributing immensely to the development of modern Chinese painting both as an art and as an academic discipline.

The couple’s great friendship with local collector Dr Leo Wong Kwai-kuen went back to the mid-1980s. It is not surprising, therefore, for their works to feature prominently in the donations that Dr Wong has made from his Jingguanlou Collection to the Hong Kong Museum of Art since 2021. Among the donations, a fine selection of 99 masterpieces is now on display to showcase the evolvement of their art over the years with the aim of uncovering how eagerly this loving pair of Shanghai School artists explored the tradition as they experimented for innovation and how they accompanied and supported each other in their artistic pursuits. 

Audios

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  • 1000Introduction
  • Bamboo shaped purple clay teapot engraved with landscape and poem; Spherical teapot with straw-hat-shaped cover in greenish grey clay engraved with pine by a burbling stream; Conical teapot in red clay engraved with a retreat by the bamboo grove1001Bamboo shaped purple clay teapot engraved with landscape and poem; Spherical teapot with straw-hat-shaped cover in greenish grey clay engraved with pine by a burbling stream; Conical teapot in red clay engraved with a retreat by the bamboo grove
  • Lotus; Lotus pond1002Lotus; Lotus pond
  • Landscapes after Song masters1003Landscapes after Song masters
  • Landscape in the style of Yan Wengui1004Landscape in the style of Yan Wengui
  • White egrets under the willow shade1005White egrets under the willow shade
  • Guanyin Bodhisattva1006Guanyin Bodhisattva
  • Boating among flowers1007Boating among flowers
  • Sunny spring and rainy summer1008Sunny spring and rainy summer

Floorplan

Floorplan

Programme

【Special Guided Tour】

Of the works from the Jingguanlou Collection gifted by local collector Dr Leo Wong Kwai-kuen to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, around 170 were by the Shanghai School painter couple Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu. The exhibition, “A Match Made in Painting: Selected Works of Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu from the Jingguanlou Collection”, features 99 of their masterpieces from various periods. In the guided tour of the exhibition, Xie Dingwei, the son of the iconic husband-and-wife duo, will lead visitors in exploring his parents’ masterpieces, and share first-hand anecdotes of their fascinating lives, careers and legacy.

Date: 2023.07.22(Saturday)
Time: 11:00am – 12:00nn ; 3:00 – 4:00pm
Venue: Jingguanlou Gallery, 4/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art
Speaker: Mr Xie Dingwei (Son of Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu)
Language: Putonghua
Fee: Free
Quota for each session*: 50
*Enrollment is not required. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.

 About the speaker:
Xie Dingwei, the son of Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu, has curated numerous art exhibitions such as “Centre Pompidou: Masters of Modern Art” (2016) and “Botticelli and the Renaissance” (2023), as well as edited and published works such as Jinxiandai Zhongguohua mingjia—Xie Zhiliu (Modern and contemporary masters of traditional Chinese painting—Xie Zhiliu) and Danqing zhiyou—Chen Peiqiu huihua yishu (Excellence in danqing—Chen Peiqiu’s art of painting). In 2023, Xie was rewarded with the National Order of the Legion of Honour for his outstanding contributions to the cultural exchange between China and France.

Public Talk

The Power Duo in Contemporary Chinese Art: Pioneering a Song and Yuan Revival in the Late 20th Century

Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu are leading painters in modern Chinese art, where their ethos has driven the key trend of the revival of Song and Yuan-dynasty painting. In this talk, art historian Dr Tang Zheming, who has published various academic papers on Xie and Chen, will explore the formation and evolution of the artistic philosophy and styles of the duo that are deeply rooted in ancient painting, while highlighting their contemporary symbolism in art and significance in art history.

Date: 2023.07.29 (Saturday)
Time: 3:00 – 4:30pm
Venue: The Hall, 1/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art
Speaker: Dr Tang Zheming (Scholar of Chinese Art History)
Language: Putonghua
Fee: Free
*Enrollment is not required. Limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.

About the speaker:
Born in Shanghai in 1970, Tang Zheming studied at Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University from 1997 to 2000 and graduated with a master's degree. He later graduated from the China Academy of Art with a doctorate degree in 2005. From 2000 to 2010, he worked as the deputy editor-in-chief in Shanghai Paintings and Calligraphy Publishing House. From 2010 to 2018, he served as a Master's degree tutor in the Department of Traditional Chinese Painting, Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University. He is currently the deputy director of the Theory and Curatorial Committee of the Shanghai Artists Association.