Landscape

Lui Shou-kwan,courtesy name Yuhu,was a native of Guangzhou, Guangdong province. He had received family training in painting since childhood under the tutelage of his father, Lü Canming. In1946, he graduated from the Guangzhou University with a degree in economics. In 1948, Lui settled in Hong Kong and worked as an inspector at the Yaumatei Ferry Company. Since 1966, he taught ink painting at the Department of Architecture, University of Hong Kong and conducted ink painting courses at the Department of Extramural Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Lui had a close studying of traditional Chinese painting and copying well-known masterpieces that he became an influential pioneer of the Modern Ink Painting Movement in Hong Kong. In 1962, he was appointed as the Honorary Adviser of the City Museum and Art Gallery at City Hall, Hong Kong. In 1968 and 1970, he formed with his students the In Tao Art Association and One Art Group respectively. In 1971, he was awarded an honorary M.B.E. by the British Government for his distinguished contributions in art.

In 1950s to 60s, Lui produced a large number of experimental ink paintings on the theme of Hong Kong landscapes. This horizontal scroll of the 70s shows a return to the traditional elements of Chinese painting. The deliberate arrangement of vertical and horizontal areas, together with the play of tonal gradations of black, grey and white create an abstract space for the imagination to fill. The junks in the lower left corner are a stylized motif found in early landscape paintings of Hong Kong, but the craggy mountains are the artist’s own creation.