How modern Chinese ink painting artists are pushing boundaries, attracting new collectors


A decade ago, Lisa Chiba, an American living in Hong Kong, received a gift from her husband that would change her perspective on art forever: a Chinese ink painting by Lui Shou-kwan.

โ€œI was just mesmerised by this piece,โ€ she recalls. โ€œAt that point, I was trying to learn โ€“ visiting galleries, shows, museums โ€“ just figuring out what I liked. But when we brought that painting into our home, I was taken aback by how much more alive it felt inside the space.โ€

That moment sparked a journey into the rich and evolving world of contemporary Chinese ink art, a world where tradition meets innovation in striking ways.

Chiba and two other major Hong Kong art collectors shared their love for the genre recently at a talk organised by Alisan Fine Arts. The talk accompanied the Hong Kong galleryโ€™s exhibition titled โ€œTradition Transformedโ€, which showcases how three generations of artists are pushing the boundaries of traditional ink painting.

Digital and Landscape-Tree (2024), by Lin Guocheng, is one of the works at โ€œTradition Transformedโ€ at Alisan Fine Arts. Photo: Alisan Fine Arts
Digital and Landscape-Tree (2024), by Lin Guocheng, is one of the works at โ€œTradition Transformedโ€ at Alisan Fine Arts. Photo: Alisan Fine Arts

One of the collectors, Douglas Wu, an architect by training, admits he once dismissed ink art as something old-fashioned and distant.

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