Preface
Expressing beauty in paintings is not difficult, but it is certainly a challenge to capture the ‘zeitgeist’ of the era. Lok Cheong, however, was a master at depicting the spirit of his day through his paintings.
An indisputably influential figure in the local art scene, Lok Cheong was one of the founding members of the ‘Macao Art Research Association’. During his lifetime, he worked diligently to promote Macao art, nurture local talents, unite art enthusiasts, and forge artistic exchanges between the art circles in Macao and the Chinese mainland.
The self-taught artist is famous for his watercolours, and his oil paintings and Chinese ink art are remarkable. His strengths also include illustrations for novels, film posters, and ornate archways (pailou) for National Day celebrations in Macao. Lok’s highly realistic works cover a wide range of subject matters and demonstrate his innovative techniques. His portraits feature President Mao, Doctor Bethune, Guo Moruo, proletarian hero Li Yuhe in the revolutionary opera The Legend of the Red Lantern, a worker at the Canton-Hong Kong strike, and female workers making firecrackers and fans. Although Lok’s works show a certain political tendency, the themes rarely depict the strong militancy of the former Soviet Union-style socialist realism and the extreme artistic principle of ‘three prominences’ that was in force during the Cultural Revolution.
Take some artworks created from 1956 to 1957 as an example: ‘The Laundry Tank at the Foot of the Guia Hill’, ‘Bleak Old Age’ and ‘Living by Rag Picking’. These works are extremely expressive in their visual effects and reveal how hard Macao people worked during a challenging time of unemployment, expressing a strong sense of humanity. On 10 January 1955, a fire broke out in a wooden house area in Ilha Verde, Macao’s Green Island. Many people lost their homes and life became very stressful. In response, some patriotic groups donated bags of rice from the Chinese mainland to the victims at the Lin Fong Temple. In the oil painting ‘Rice Aid from the Motherland’, Lok illustrated the strong bond between the motherland and Macao with realistic brushstrokes. The work reveals the Macao people’s virtue of mutual help in a piece that is moving yet unconventional. The 1958 painting ‘Technicians Departing to Serve the Motherland’ sets a brighter tone and visual effect. It skillfully depicts the unfolding of an event and expresses strong patriotism. The painting does not idealise reality by showing fabrications, excessive boasting, or empty slogans.
Lok Cheong loved his homeland and country. He was enthusiastic about sketching and painted the motherland’s magnificent landscape and Macao’s scenery with strong affection. He depicted Macao as a tranquil and charming place, portraying the city as a home for artists who ‘create art for art’s sake’. Some of his works date from around the time of Macao’s reunification with the motherland, such as ‘Nest-Bound Birds’ and ‘Year of the Century (Sunny Day)’. These pieces reveal his philosophy of ‘creating art for life’. In these works, a flock of pigeons on their way back home is a metaphor for local people’s views on the historical return to the motherland. These works certainly capture the zeitgeist of the period.
The Macao Museum of Art (MAM) works to collect, preser ve, exhibit and research Macao artworks. The museum has showcased remarkable works by many late veteran local painters, such as Lok Cheong, in exhibitions such as Reflections of Four Masters of Macao (2009), 60th Anniversary of the Macao Artist Society – A Retrospective (2016), and Prelude to Macao’s Modern Style (2022). These exhibitions received positive acclaims. In September 2020, Lok Cheong’s family generously donated the artist’s 239 oil paintings, watercolours, Chinese calligraphy and paintings, and 24 drawing albums. These substantial donations have enriched the MAM’s collection of local artworks and research on the development of Macao artwork. Thanks to them, organising the exhibition Centennial Retrospective of Lok Cheong’s Art has been a smooth and rewarding process.
Over these years, the MAM actively carried out relevant academic research, collation of historical information and oral history records, as well as dialoguing lectures. As a result, the museum has published professional catalogues, created cultural and creative products, and organised educational and promotional activities to reflect the role and contribution of these veteran artists to the history of Macao’s art development. These works have given full play to the social benefits of the museum’s collection and live up to the trust of donors and the expectations of the public.
As the saying goes, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’. Looking back over the past hundred years, the art scene in Macao has thrived in unity and the artistic path the city walks along is still growing wider and wider. All of this validates Lok Cheong’s vision. The master has passed away, but his artistic spirit lives on, just as his famous inscription in the painting ‘Mr. Lu Xun’ commemorating the centenary of his birth reads: ‘We always have to fight for the light and even if we can’t have it, we can always leave it to future generations’. I hope the audience can experience for themselves this selfless pioneer’s contribution to art as they also remember his spirit of ‘striving for progress’. I hope that Macao artists proactively take on the responsibility that has been passed down to them over the years by this great artist.
Un Sio San
Director of the Macao Museum of Art