The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong is delighted to announce a guided viewing of A World Within: The Art and Inspiration of Irene Chou with curator Joyce Wong. The exhibition is the first major solo presentation of Irene Chou (1924-2011) worldwide since the artist’s passing and is the third installment in The Asia Society Hong Kong Center’s 20th Century Chinese Female Artist series. The exhibition featuresover 40 major paintings from Chou’s fifty-year career, tracing her artistic trajectory and significance at the forefront of Hong Kong’s New Ink Art Movement.
About the artist
Chou was born and raised in Shanghai during the tumultuous years of the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. She worked as a journalist for Peace Daily upon graduation and only began practicing art formally in the 1950s after she moved to Hong Kong. She first studied under the Lingnan School master Zhao Shao’ang, before learning ink painting from Lui Shou-kwan in the 1960s. It was during this period that Chou developed a highly original abstract visual language informed by modern themes, Western techniques and art movements as well as her unique outlook on life. In 1991 the artist suffered a stroke that nearly ended her career; however, she was able to recover mobility through her qigong practice. Chou’s artistic journey is marked by many distinct phases, and her painting was rejuvenated after her relocation to Australia following her stroke.
About the curator
Joyce Hei-ting Wong formerly served as a Curator at the Chantal Miller Gallery, Asia Society Hong Kong Center (ASHK). She holds a BA from the University of Hong Kong double majoring in English Literature and Fine Art (2015). She has worked on numerous exhibitions including Life is Only One: Yoshitomo Nara (2015); Bat Cave: Treasures of the Day and Creatures of the Night (2015), Shen Wei: Dance Strokes (2016), Shahzia Sikander: Apparatus of Power (2016), Roaring Guardians: The Mari-Cha Lion with Asian Traditional and Contemporary Art (2017), Breathing Space: Contemporary Art from Hong Kong (2017). She assisted the inauguration of ASHK’s 20th Century Chinese Female Artist Series with Painting Her Way: The Ink Art of Fang Zhaoling (2017) curated by Kuiyi Shen and Julia F. Andrews, followed by Song of Spring: Pan Yu-Lin in Paris (2018) curated by Eric Lefebvre, and most recently curated A World Within: The Art and Inspiration of Irene Chou.rnrnPlease register by clicking on the registration button or by emailing ocs@orientalceramics.org.hk, or calling us at 6140 6742