Macau’s Centre for Creative Industries (CCI) is hosting a free-admission exhibition titled “Searching – Chinese ink painting”, which will run until March 11.
Located on the ground floor of the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM), the exhibition is open from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, excluding public holidays.
According to a statement by the organisers, the exhibition features the work of Henry Ma Kam Keong (馬錦強), an artist born in Macau who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Canada. In addition to his artistic pursuits, the statement noted that Ma has lectured at various universities including Peking University and the private Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). He has published numerous articles in academic journals and authored a book titled “A Research on Blue and White Porcelain Wares of the Ming Dynasty Unearthed in Macau.”
Ma’s art features, among other things, Chinese calligraphy, paintings and photographs, which have all been shown in Macau, the mainland as well as Canada.
An estimated thirty of Ma’s artworks, which are Chinese outdoor ink sketches created in recent years, are on display at the exhibition. Ma was quoted by the statement as saying: “Although they cannot be considered as great works of art, yet [they] can be regarded as a review of my searching and developing stages. Indeed, there are still many shortcomings which need improvement.”
The statement noted that Ma’s artistic approach stems from his desire to blend Western painting techniques with Chinese art and calligraphy. Ma said that he had initially struggled, but insisted that “the effect was not significant,” adding that since then he has returned to outdoor sketching, starting with fibre pens on handmade paper. However, he later switched to Chinese ink on rice paper. He pointed out: “At the early stage, I was unable to handle the reaction between ink and water,” but after years of practice, he said he had gained insight into their relationship.
Even now, according to the statement, he admitted: “I am still constantly thinking and SEARCHING for the way to express myself in my own art works.”
Photos taken yesterday at Creative Macau in Nape by Adrian Vallesteros
