Exploring Inside
The Fence of Beauty

March, 1999

I come from the unknown depths of dreams, the ivory boat of age brings me to your place,

I tried for a long time to escape longing desires in the eyes, in the lasting long seasons.

In an autumn afternoon of harmonious light and shadow, I took a photo of Wu Yeung:

he was sitting cross-legged next to a pink wall, looking at you through his spectacles elegantly, peacefully and quietly as if deep in thought, or longing for something.

Through the plane mood created by my artistic perception; by comparing his famous Compatriot woodblock print which expresses the great spiritual strength of mankind

with his later work Strive a wood engraving that set off great art movement through striking ideas; shows substantial contrasts. From the very first impression, when

Wu Yeung openly stands in front of you, you might feel he is a scholar in sociology,

natural science or others. 

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The ever changing artistic concepts and the constantly expanding boundaries in arts

has made way for Wu Yeung. He is a painter and an educator, explores, creates and cultivates art. Born in Anhui, he took on arts education with many successes after graduating from the China Academy of Art. He went to Singapore, Hong Kong and

also set out for England to disseminate oriental art and essence of his education into

a foreign land; experiences of his youth wrote this colourful chapter of his life through

rain and storms, unreserved, filled with honesty and tenacity.

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In March 1995, the first group exhibition by The Hong Kong International Academy of Art - Wu Yeung Atelier, exhibited work of art by students and teachers, was held in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, foyer exhibition located in Tsim Sha Tsui. The exhibition showcased collections of artwork created by students from the period of five years ever since Wu Yeung Atelier was established. Unfold before one's eyes were fields of New Territories village landscape in distinctive layers of colour and architectural metropolis of Victoria Harbour. Crowd of visitors shown up with unprecedented sensation, manifesting Wu Yeung’s creative talents and his outstanding achievements in arts education. Subsequently, he was invited to deliver lectures in the Royal College of Design in England and lead juvenile elite teams to create street-life paintings, it was a noble and honourable event.

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During June 1996, the second group exhibition by The Hong Kong International

Academy of Art - Wu Yeung Atelier, held in the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre was a huge sensation excelling the first, at the same time going beyond the boundary of art. Through the inspirational works of students, the academy has demonstrate that: On his contribution on arts education, Wu Yeung is a remarkable forerunner and a manifestation on how he should bring arts education to a whole new level.

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To remain passionate in woodblock printing and oil painting is a particularly

appealing prospect of Wu Yeung’s temperament, but this is also a valuable asset for him

as a China Academy of Fine Arts graduate in facing life challenges. As a category of art, the profundity and power of painting profoundly exhibit the insuppressible desires of human nature. Through the ocean of rising winds and rolling waves, a feeble man is pulling sails and overcoming smashing waves for survival on a wooden craft, this sharp contrasting wood engraved art piece Strive lucidly expresses Wu Yeung’s inner truth,

his altitude towards life and rage in his soul; the permeating force and art consciousness

of this piece of natural art is also a realisation of his whole view of life : it is stunning,

deep and magnificent.

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A Qing Dynasty painter Shen Zhong Qian says, "For those artist who master in the art

of pen and ink, it takes the first decade to understand the surface of the temperament

of pen and ink, and the next decade to develop a fundamental understanding, then

another decade to grasp the spirit of pen and ink, and only thirty years later will the skill change qualitatively.”, what he try to express is that the arduousness of art and perhaps

to succeed requires a relatively long experience of mastery. Is it just a beginning for

Wu Yeung's ten glorious years of engagement in woodblock prints and paintings, and commitment in art education? Who can predict his transformation in the next thirty years? However, one thing is certain: along this path, promoting human nature and exploring aesthetic beauty will keep him going.

Wu Yeung is well known in Hong Kong's arts education, he is insightful and has immense wealth of knowledge. He is a role model that cannot be ignored, leading the integral Hong Kong arts education. Throughout the ten years since he founded the atelier in 1989,

he is still striving, searching for that calm harbour in the rough ocean. His ingenuity and wisdom in teaching is most admirable, the blessings in life surrounds him and shining upon his glorious history in The Hong Kong International Academy of Art- Wu Yeung Atelier. 

In the next decade, in those long seasons, the fences of beauty

will be abundantly variegated.

Chen Yifei |1946 - 2005|

Chinese Classic Oil Painter

March, 1999