Renowned painter Ho Wing-cheong and 20 Lingnan students’ first collaborative painting “The Spring Blossoms” is the centrepiece at the opening of the Lingnan School Art exhibition at Lingnan@WestKowloon

To encourage more young people to learn about and appreciate the Chinese culture, Lingnan University has mounted an exhibition, which opened today, 10 July, entitled “The Art of Ho Wing-cheong and Collaborative Painting with Lingnan Students” at its off-campus learning hub Lingnan@WestKowloon, where the painting “The Spring Blossoms”, a collaborative creation by Mr Ho Wing-cheong, the renowned Lingnan School painter, President of the Hong Kong Art Instructors Association, and Senior Instructor of the Lingnan School of Painting, and 20 Lingnan University students from different academic backgrounds, is shown for the first time. About 40 paintings by Mr Ho are on display, and the exhibition aims to encourage young people and the wider community to understand and relate to Chinese culture. The public can register online to visit the exhibition. There is no entrance charge.
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Lingnan University

“The Spring Blossoms”, painted by Mr Ho Wing-cheong and 20 Lingnan University students from different academic backgrounds, is on display at the exhibition.

Lingnan University

Guests at the opening ceremony of “The Art of Ho Wing-cheong and Collaborative Painting with Lingnan Students” hosted by Lingnan University. (From left: Mr Ho Wing-cheong, Mr Barry Law Lam-wai, Mr Augustine Lui Ngok-che, Mr Lam Sai-hung, Dr Louis Ng Chi-wa, Dr the Honourable Ko Wing-man, Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Mr Ivan Fu Chin-shing, Ir Dr Derrick Pang Yat-bond)

Lingnan University

Distinguished guests of honour at the opening ceremony, included Dr Louis Ng Chi-wa, Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum; Dr the Honourable Ko Wing-man, GBS, JP, Member of the Executive Council of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; MrAugustine Lui Ngok-che, Chairman of the Lingnan Education Organization; MrBarry Law Lam-wai, Director of the Lingnan Education Organization; Mr Lam Sai-hung, GBS, JP, Adjunct Professor of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and former Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr Ivan Fu Chin-shing, MH, JP, Chairperson of  Zero Carbon Building Management Board and a member of the Antiquities Advisory Board; Ir Dr Derrick Pang Yat-bond, JP, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited; and Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing of Lingnan University. 

 

Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing of Lingnan University said in his welcome remarks that Lingnan is actively responding to the government’s policy of promoting cultural and creative industries in its aesthetic Chinese arts education, and encouraging public interest in the history and value of Lingnan culture, as well as in art, noting that “Lingnan culture has a rich heritage, and its essence lies in passing on the torch down generations. This exhibition is not only a display of artistic achievements but also a vibrant expression of cultural transmission, and signifies Lingnan University’s own contributions to Chinese cultural and arts education. We will continue to integrate culture and art from the campus into the community, facilitate exchanges, and look forward to collaborating with all sectors to broaden the influence of Lingnan culture.”

 

The highlight of the exhibition is “The Spring Blossoms”, painted by Mr Ho Wing-cheong and 20 Lingnan University students. This one-by-two-metre painting’s vivid brushstrokes and colours depict natural landscapes, and embody the spirit of spring’s renewal. Under Mr Ho’s guidance, the students added their own ideas to traditional Lingnan School techniques, showing the cultural depth and modern vitality of Lingnan art, and the Lingnan School’s ethos of honouring tradition while embracing innovation. 

 

Kwok Wing-yiu, a Year 2 student in the Translation, Cross-cultural Studies, and Corporate Communication programme, one of the artists, said “I usually work with watercolours and oils, so this was my first experience of Chinese painting. With Mr Ho’s patient guidance, I gradually became immersed in the process and began to appreciate the unique fusion of East and West in the Lingnan School, combining the essence of Chinese ink painting with the influence of Western colours.”

 

She added “This project also helped me acquire an eye for detail as I observed nature, and the movements and expressions of birds, and developed my ability to create more freely. Mr Ho encouraged us to express our own artistic styles, and every stroke, from composition to the use of colour, reflects our perception and imagination.”  

 

Lingnan University launched the LingArt Programme on the Promotion and Inheritance of Chinese Culturein the 2023-24 academic year with funding from the Lingnan Education Organization. Through its promotions and exhibitions, the programme teaches students comprehensively from basic to advanced levels, focusing on the many beautiful facets of Chinese culture and art. Lingnan University showed “Lingnan Art: A Legacy of Guangdong and Hong Kong – Ho Wing-cheong Exhibition” in October last year, which presented Mr Ho’s absolute mastery of his art. 

 

A disciple of Lingnan School Master Zhao Shaoang, Mr Ho, who has had decades of experience in painting and teaching and nurtured many artistic talents, emphasises personal creativity. He has held solo exhibitions in Hong Kong and abroad, conducted painting classes worldwide, and delivered academic lectures on the Lingnan School at several universities. His is an elegant contemporary style, his themes are diverse, and he has received many awards. Mr Ho has written an art column for Visual Arts magazine, which promotes activities in the art world, since 2020.