The exhibition “Bathing in the Spring Breeze – Paintings by Liu Mengkuan”, organized by the Macao Museum of Art (MAM), under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, was inaugurated on 26 July, at 6:30pm, at the Special Exhibition Gallery of the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao. The opening ceremony was held in a lively atmosphere and was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian; the Assistant of the Deputy Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao S.A.R., Shao Bin; the Chancellor of the Macau University of Science and Technology, Liu Chak Wan; the Chairman of The Wharf (Holdings) Limited, Stephen Ng; the Chairman of the Healthy China Medical and Pharmaceutical Foundation Limited, Anthony Wu; the Executive Vice President of the Yu Un Chinese Calligraphers and Painters Association of Macao, Sio Chun Iun; and the artist Liu Mengkuan. During the opening ceremony, the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau presented the certificate of appreciation to the artist Liu Mengkuan for his donation of work entitled Roaster on the Rock to the Macao Museum of Art of the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
President Mok Ian Ian said in her speech that Liu Mengkuan has fully inherited the artistry of Yang Shanshen, a second-generation master of the Lingnan School, and successfully created his own style of painting, making himself one of the outstanding and active member of the third generation of the School. Liu hosted a painting exhibition at the Luís de Camões Museum in Macao as early as 1987. On occasion of the 20th anniversary of Macao’s Handover to China, there is a special significance for holding this exhibition, which contributes to the artistic exchanges between Macao and Hong Kong.
Liu Mengkuan is a founding member of the Hong Kong Art Association and President of the Mu Feng Art Club. In 1977, he started learning painting with Yang Shanshen, a second-generation master of the Lingnan School, and became a full-time painter in 1983, being an active member of the third generation of the School. In 2003, Liu founded the Mu Feng Art Studio in Hong Kong and taught Lingnan School painting courses at the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Arts Centre. In 2012, he founded the Mu Feng Art Club and dedicated himself to promoting the art of the Lingnan School.
The exhibition features 90 paintings by Liu Mengkuan, showing how the artist inherited and innovated the painting techniques of Lingnan School. Liu Mengkuan is good at painting flowers, animals, birds, fish, insects and landscapes. His works have fully inherited the Lingnan School’s spirit of drawing from nature while combining it with Western painting techniques, putting the finishing touches on daily materials and reflecting his literary, interesting and simplistic artistic approach.
To give the visitors a deeper understanding of the Lingnan School of painting, the Macao Museum of Art invited Liu Mengkuan to hold the activity “Guided Appreciation of Lingnan School of Painting with Technique Demonstration” on 27 July, from 2:30pm to 5pm, at the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao. The appreciation session has attracted an enthusiastic response from the public since registration opened.
The exhibition “Bathing in the Spring Breeze – Paintings by Liu Mengkuan” is held until 25 August. The Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, located at Avenida Xian Xing Hai, NAPE, is open daily from 10am to 7pm (no admittance after 6:30pm) including public holidays, and is closed on Mondays. Admission is free.
