Art Totems Bridging East & West 中西合相──當代圖騰

The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), The University of Hong Kong, is delighted to present Art Totems Bridging East & West: Eddie Lui’s Four Decades of Artistic Pursuit, an exhibition of artworks documenting the artist’s long and distinguished career. A successful banker, Eddie Lui began as a part-time artist before changing his corporate career for a full-time engagement with his passion for art. The public display at UMAG, as well as this accompanying book, follow a strict chronology and honour the artistic contribution of one of the city’s most celebrated contemporary artists.

In the early 1970s, Eddie Lui completed art and design courses with the Department of Extra-Mural Studies at The University of Hong Kong (now HKU SPACE), followed by a one-year contemporary ink painting programme with a celebrated group of Hong Kong painters that included Lui Shou-kwan (1919–1975) and Wucius Wong (b.1936). Over the past forty years, Lui has developed a new language of naturalistic and abstract motifs highlighting his deeply felt admiration for nature. As a draftsman, painter and sculptor Lui is one of the founders of contemporary art in Hong Kong. His artworks—whether in ink, gouache, Japanese handmade paper on canvas, or sculpted in clay—are reminiscent of poetry that connects humans with nature and appeals to our range of senses.

Over the years, Lui’s palette has altered, and the often bright and flamboyant colours now give way to more muted monochrome inks. At the same time, in artworks large and small, the fine execution of each detail and the certainty with which the artist’s brush moves remain of the highest quality. Lui has also been a gifted teacher and arts administrator, instructing students and helping to develop New Ink Painting in Hong Kong as a discipline.

香港大學美術博物館很榮幸呈現《中西合相──當代圖騰：呂豐雅從藝四十載》展覽，展示記錄藝術家漫長、卓越藝術生涯的作品。呂豐雅最初是一位成功的銀行家，只以兼職身份從事藝術；之後才憑藉其對藝術的熱情，從商業中完全出離，轉而全身心參與藝術。香港大學美術博物館的公眾展覽以及隨附的圖錄，嚴格遵循一個時間年表，全面展示香港最著名的當代藝術家之一的呂豐雅，並向其卓越的藝術貢獻致敬。

1970年代初，呂豐雅在香港大學校外課程部（今香港大學專業進修學院）完成藝術與設計課程，之後參加由香港著名畫家呂壽琨（1919–1975）及王無邪（b.1936）等老師所主持的一年制現代水墨藝術專修課程。在四十年的藝術生涯中，呂豐雅發展出一種新式的藝術語言，以自然主義和抽象圖案來強調對自然的無限欽佩。呂豐雅是一位繪圖師、畫家、雕塑家，是香港當代藝術的奠基人之一。他的作品，無論水墨、樹膠彩、布本美濃紙或陶塑，皆是如詩回憶，使人融於自然，邁入豐富的感官世界。

多年以來，呂豐雅的創作色調已經改變，之前通常明亮艷麗的顏色如今讓位於柔和的單色水墨。同時，在無論大型或小型作品中，呂豐雅對每個細節的精細描摹，以及穩定精準的畫筆運動，依然保持極高水準。呂豐雅也是一位優秀的教師和藝術負責人，不僅親身指導學生，更助力香港「新水墨」的發展壯大。