Section 3
East-West Coexistence: Rainbow Art Group and Fellow Macanese Painters (1962 – 1985)
In 1962, Herculano Estorninho, one of the most accomplished Macanese artists, co-founded the Rainbow Art Group with fellow painters Kwok Se, Tam Chi Sang, Chio Vai Fu and Oseo Acconci. Aimed at promoting the integration of diverse cultures and mutual learning among various communities, the group continued to strive for Western painting development and reform in Macao.
Compared with the Macau Artist Society, the Rainbow Art Group included more foreign artists. Its establishment not only created opportunities for exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign painters, but also injected new energy into the Macao art circles. In 1963, from 21st to 30th January, a joint exhibition of paintings by Herculano Estorninho, Tam Chi Sang and Frederick Joss proved a great success, with nearly half of the exhibits being acquired by collectors. In 1964, the Rainbow Artists’ Exhibition was hosted at the former gallery of Leal Senado of Macao (today IAM Building). More than 360 oil paintings, watercolours, pencil drawings and sculptures were displayed, attracting 50,000 visitors. In February 1973, the joint exhibition of Macanese artists Leonel Barros, Emílio Cervantes Júnior, Afonso Variz and Luk Tin Chee was inaugurated at the Escola Comercial in Macao. This joint presentation of works by Chinese artists and from other ethnicities went down in history as a great event in the Macao painting circles.
This section exhibits 43 works mainly by Chinese and Macanese painters, including oil paintings, watercolours, sketches and sculptures. Most works by Macanese painters were in abstract form, either rich in Oriental aesthetics, or avoiding the usual landscapes and social to compose abstract geometrical images, with pointillism used as a colour-capturing technique. On the other hand, Oseo Acconci and Selene Fung attempted to create realistic sculptures. The interplay of the artists’ personal backgrounds with the diverse cultures contributed to the broad humanist spectrum in Macao, while also delivering gorgeous paintings.