Postscript
On the world map, Macao may appear as a small and unremarkable port, and yet it can boast a rich and distinct heritage dotted with remarkable tales from the worlds of modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting. Numerous masters – including Wu Li, one of the Six Masters of the Early Qing period, and modern artists Zhang Daqian, Gao Jianfu and Guan Shanyue – have left artistic footprints in Macao. Though their stays may have been brief, they bolstered Macao’s cultural milieu by establishing studios, training students and organising exhibitions, creating excitement with each new wave, which ebbed and flowed like ripples in a pond.
In the 1950s, Mr Chui Tak Kei founded his ‘Yu Un Salon’. Held on the first Tuesday of every month at his ‘Yu Un Restaurant’, to discuss artistic works of calligraphy and paintings, the salon drew many renowned calligraphers, painters and seal carvers from Hong Kong and Macao, including Deng Fen, Li Yanshan, Shen Zhongqiang, Luo Shuzhong and Feng Kanghou, and fostered in Macao a fast-growing trend for the creation of calligraphy, painting and epigraphy. Later, the salon grew into the ‘Yu Un Chinese Calligraphers and Painters Association of Macao’, and calligraphy and painting took a firm hold in the city. Talents were nurtured, appreciation grew, and works that were produced have had a lasting and widespread impact.
The ‘Yu Un Chinese Calligraphers and Painters Association of Macao’, which succeeded the ‘Yu Un Salon’, has been active for seven decades. This year, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government and the Macao Museum of Art join hands with the Yu Un to present A Gathering of Treasures: The 70th Anniversary Art Exhibition of the Yu Un Chinese Calligraphers and Painters Association of Macao. The show displays works by the association’s seven founding members, namely Chui Tak Kei, Deng Fen, Luo Shuzhong, Situ Qi, Gan Heng, Lin Jin and U Kuan Wai, who contributed so tremendously to the association and became so influential and representative of calligraphers, painters and seal carvers in the region.
Luo Shuzhong and Deng Fen, two renowned artists who frequented Chui Tak Kei’s then newly-established ‘Yu Un Salon’, were extremely active in calligraphy, painting and seal carving in Hong Kong. Their support undoubtedly helped spread the word about the salon. Painter Situ Qi, a Gao Jianfu’s student who stayed in Macao for over a decade, is regarded as the most influential artist in the city. His students – Chui Tak Kei among them, alongside Zhao Mingshan, Zhao Wenfeng and U Kuan Wai – achieved great accomplishments and became recognised names in art circles. Lin Jin, U Kuan Wai and Gan Heng were accomplished calligraphers, painters and seal carvers who became chairmen and vice chairmen of the association and trained many students in the arts. These three artists also contributed significantly to the association and received the Medals of Cultural Merit from the Portuguese Macao Government. These seven featured veteran artists earned profound artistic attainments and were recognised by the government and society. It is clear for all to see that they are all artists of true virtue and talent!
A Gathering of Treasures could not have been successfully put together without many contributors: the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government and the Macao Museum of Art, who organised the exhibition and lent remarkable exhibits from their collections; the dedicated art collectors from Hong Kong and Macao who generously lent invaluable pieces, photographs and memorabilia from their collections as well as the MAM staff, who have so diligently coordinated the show. And here, I would like to express my gratitude for the support of the exhibition from departments and staff; Mr José Chui Sai Peng, the President of Yu Un; Mr Sio Chun Iun, the Executive Vice President of Yu Un; Mr Chan Hou Seng, the academic advisor and Mr Nigel Szeto, son of the artist Situ Qi.
Dixon Lei Tak Seng
Exhibition Curator
Chairman of the Yu Un Chinese Calligraphers and Painters Association of Macao