Beyond Brushstrokes
By Maria Victoria Rufino
Coalescences — Sixty Years of Creativity was Hau Chiok’s anniversary celebration at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila from Nov. 15 last year until Jan. 15.
The awesome exhibition by our esteemed professor in the Lingnan tradition (contemporary Chinese painting) showcased more than 100 paintings, scrolls, calligraphy, seal carvings and sketches done during his very productive 60-year career.
As master painter, art teacher, calligrapher and writer of best-selling instructional books on Chinese painting, Hau Chiok has inspired and influenced thousands of students of different nationalities.
He studied with Lingnan master Zhao Shao’ang and with Singaporean finger painter Wu Zaiyan.
He lived in the Philippines for 50 years and experimented with and created a fusion of techniques and concepts of Western and Chinese art. Chinese art critics described his art as “tradition, innovation and fusion” to create a distinctive “Nanyang style.”
Here are some excerpts from his speech at the Met Museum opening:
“I have always loved painting. My childhood in China, my 50 years of living in the Philippines and my 10 years in Calgary, Canada, have gifted me with innumerable inspiration and opportunities to explore the rich traditions and cultures of these three countries. They have taught me a great deal about the merits of melding eastern and western cultures.
“The coalescence or fusing of the cultures and traditions of East and West has long been an essential component of my creative process as well as my teaching experiences in promoting Chinese art.
“Chinese civilization has a long history and art forms like painting, calligraphy, poetry, drama, music have long been the medium through which individuals expressed themselves, with the goal of achieving harmony and oneness with nature…
“Western artists view external form, perspective anatomy and the effects of light and shadow differently from Chinese and Asian artists. Yet these divergent approaches serve to enrich and benefit the work of practitioners of Chinese art.
“The monumental landscape paintings that I did in the 1990s were executed at the request and invitation of museums and universities from the Philippines, United States, and China, where I had the pleasure of doing painting demonstrations, and mounting exhibitions.
“My paintings form albums of my travels and experiences but they are love letters of sorts to the three countries I have been fortunate to call home — China, the Philippines, and Canada. These three countries have been crucial to my formation as an individual and to my career as an artist….”
“Chinese art critic Ju Wan Zhiang once characterized my work as a merging of Chinese and Western sensibilities, imbued with tradition and the contemporary spirit, with fusion and innovation.
“I am humbled by such high praise, and by his summing up of my artistic mission and style.”
The excellent artist is a passionate teacher/mentor. With his beloved wife, fellow painter, collaborator and artistic partner Sy Chiu Hua, (“Lolit” to friends), Master Hau has held more than a hundred exhibitions in renowned museums in the world — Beijing National Museum, Zhongqing City Museum in China, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University, USA, The Philippine National Museum, Ayala Museum, GSIS Museum and Vargas Museum.
He was presented the Jose Rizal Award for culture and the arts by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. He received the “Distinguished achievement in art” award from the Calgary Chinese Cultural Center in 2014. Professor and Mrs. Hau now reside in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and they continue to hold regular Chinese painting classes.
In November 2018, Master Hau’s original students (based in the Philippines) and new students (who flew in from Canada) held a month-long reunion group exhibition at Kaisa Heritage Museum in Intramuros.
In February 2008, Master Hau mounted the 50th-year anniversary exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. Master Hau and Sy Chiu Hua invited a few of the original students to exhibit their best paintings. It was an honor to have been included in that grand exhibition.
On a personal note, Master Hau started teaching at Galerie Bleue at Rustan’s in 1975. The Met Museum president Tina Colayco was then the curator-manager. That was the time we learned the exacting, delicate and difficult discipline of watercolor painting, using ink sticks on ink stones, natural tinted watercolor pellets on silk, rice paper and hemp paper.
He was extremely patient and kind, always encouraging the students to copy his style and to try harder. He carved personalized seals (chops) for us.
In the succeeding 10 years, we followed him and Lolit to take weekend lessons at City Gallery, Bricktown arcade, Galeria de Magallanes, to name a few. We had several exciting group shows at the various galleries and at the University of the Philippines College of Arts and Sciences, the Hyatt Terraces in Baguio.
Congratulations, Master Hau Chiok. On behalf of all the students, we thank you for being our early teacher and inspiring mentor. The discipline and intricate lessons have been the strong foundation of our skills in this life-long artistic journey. Thank you, Lolit, for guiding and teaching us though the years and for being Master Hau’s partner and our friend
Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.
mavrufino@gmail.com
