Across Time and Space: Revisiting Twentieth-Century Chinese Oil Paintings - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9887470821 ISBN 13: 9789887470823

Publisher: The University of Hong Kong. University Museum and Art Gallery, 2025

Synopsis

In the early twentieth century, oil painting as a non-indigenous medium began to be taught in Chinese art academies. Since that time, it has become an important and increasingly popular portal, inviting artists to explore cross-cultural dynamics and experiment with individual creative expression.

This selection of twentieth-century Chinese oil paintings from the UMAG collection sheds light on the art historical and cultural significance of the medium. Highlighting the versatile aspects of Chinese oil paintings across a diverse spectrum of themes, styles, techniques, time periods, and regional and local characteristics, this publication presents the depth and virtuosity of Chinese oil paintings, extending from intimate interior views to panoramic coastal landscapes. The collective and individual memories within urban scenes activate dialogues of painting practices across time, space, and cross-cultural and cross-media encounters.

The selected works display and represent the various artistic styles and visual trends as well as the artists' evolving perceptions and sensitivities about the changing face of twentieth-century China. The works on display have rarely been shown in public and include paintings by iconic masters and influential art educators including Liu Haisu (1896-1994) and Wu Guanzhong (1919–2010). 

The collection of Chinese oil paintings constitutes the foundation of UMAG’s educational work today. Since initiating its publicly accessible collection in the 1950s, UMAG has been closely connected to the development of twentieth-century Chinese painters and their work. It has also actively documented and studied the evolution of their artistic talents and the Hong Kong art scene.

在二十世紀初，中國藝術院校開始教授油畫藝術科目。自此，這項非本土的美術形式愈來愈受歡迎，引發藝術家們探索跨文化的對話交流，及跨媒介交匯後在繪畫技法上的實踐和個性化的表達。

精選的作品凸顯了中國油畫的繽紛多元，作品涵蓋不同主題、風格、技法、時段、地區和地方特色，技藝紛呈，既深且廣。從狹窄的室內景觀到廣闊的海岸風景，從個人與集體記憶以至城市場景。

本展覽精選的作品代表著不同的藝術風格和視覺趨勢，展示出藝術家們對變化中的二十世紀中國的認知。本次作品鮮有展出，包括聲譽卓著的繪畫大師和美術教育家的畫作，例如劉海粟(1896-1994) 和吳冠中(1919-2010)。 

香港大學大學美術博物館的中國油畫

About this title

About the Author

Shuo Hua is an assistant curator at the University Museum and Art Gallery, at the University of Hong Kong.

Edition details

• Publisher: The University of Hong Kong. University Museum and Art Gallery
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9887470821
• ISBN 13: 9789887470823
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 228
• Editor: Hua Shuo