Enduring Strength and Passion 困乏多情 香江藝緣

A native of Maoming County in Guangdong province, Ting Yin Yung (1902–1978) first studied Western painting in Tokyo at the Kawabata Painting School in 1920, and then at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. He began working in mainland China in 1925, before emigrating to Hong Kong in 1949, where he developed his artistic practice as a painter, seal carver and greatly admired teacher.

Originally trained in Western methods, Ting became increasingly interested in Chinese ink painting. He also mastered traditional subjects such as bird-and-flower paintings, which are remarkable for their nuanced saturation of pigment and his one-stroke technique. A great admirer of Ming and Qing dynasty paintings, Ting’s artistic style is striking for its abstract simplicity, which is indicative of a departure from his predecessors’ realistic representations. His use of line, void and space exemplifies his contribution to the formulation of a contemporary Chinese style that was in part informed by his study of ancient oracle bone scripts, and also emerged in parallel with his abstract oil paintings beginning in the 1960s. He was equally known for his profuse employment of personal seals that illustrate an abstract language of their own and established Ting as a prolific and distinctive seal carver.

UMAG’s exhibition and publication are authoritative in their display of Ting’s oil and ink paintings, watercolours, sketches and seals, all of which cover the most productive decades of his working life in Hong Kong. The project is also highly community-centred, as the development of this project benefited greatly from the input of Ting’s students, who continue to treasure their master’s passion, and the instructive lessons and conversations that nurtured a generation of local artists.

丁衍庸 (1902–1978)，廣東茂名縣人，是一位畫家、篆刻家和被受寵愛的老師。 他於 1920年代初先後在日本川端畫學校和東京美術學校學習西畫， 1925 年回國從事藝術教育，1949 年移居香港，繼續創作及實踐其藝術理念。

丁公最初學西畫，他後來轉向國畫。他善於繪畫傳統題材，例如花鳥畫，其用色和一筆畫更是馳名。他尤其喜歡明清繪畫，簡約的文人寫意風格有別於他早年相對寫實的表現手法。 他的用筆和空間處理，帶領中國水墨畫走進新時代。源於他對甲骨文的研究，其一九六零年代以後的油畫，出現了不少甲骨文或由甲骨文轉化而成的符號。他善於用印刻提昇作品的層次，其篆刻風格獨特、多產，使他成為知名的篆刻家。 

是次香港大學美術博物館的展覽和圖錄全面地呈現他在香港各式各樣、十分豐富的創作，包括油畫、水墨、水彩、速寫和篆刻等。此展覽和圖錄得以大功告成，全賴社會各方參與、協助策劃和積極支持，特別是一眾十分敬愛丁公的學生，他們慷慨捐贈、無私的分享以及寶貴的建議。他們薪火相傳，傳承丁公對藝術的熱誠、教導和訓勉，承前啟後培育新一代的藝術家。是次展覽大部分作品均為丁公在課堂上的創作示範，體現他作為老師的影響力。 

Sarah NG is currently a curator at the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong. 

吳秀華現為香港大學美術博物館館長，多年來一直教學和策劃近現代及當代中國藝術展覽，尤重視推廣對傳統作品的當代演繹。