New Trends of 20th Century Chinese Paintings with Dr. Tang Wai Hung (in Cantonese)

Chinese paintings were deemed at a low in the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911). By the beginning of the twentieth century, even traditional painters held the opinion that some changes were needed in this form of art. Western reform thoughts had influenced many aspects of Chinese culture, and painting was no exception. Painters looked for various ways to surpass works of past masters. Some avant-garde artists believed that traditional forms of Chinese painting should give way to Western art theory as the way forward, while others were deeply rooted in preserving bonafide Chinese culture. This talk will review the controversial ideas that had been proposed and debated against one another throughout the century and how they became an interesting phenomenon of 20th Century Chinese art.

Speaker
Dr. Tang Wai Hung is the Curator of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole at The University of Hong Kong. Coming from the first generation of television personalities in the 1960s, he has been the head of the creative team and deputy production controller of the Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited (HKTVB), the Director of Teledifusao De Macau (TDM) and the General Manager of Wharf Cable.

Dr. Tang is a novelist and columnist, as well as a specialist in Chinese art. His publications include The Bibliography of Qi Baishi, The Dialogues of Hong Kong Artists, The Painting of Y.Y. Ting, Articles on Chinese Painting I and II. He has also compiled numerous albums on Chinese painting collections.