欽哲基金會
Khyentse Foundation
Professor Johnson Chow Su-Sing
In addition to the genre of landscape painting, Chow is proficient in bird-and-flower painting, the classics, poetry and calligraphy. He is a multifaceted literati painter. His paintings of birds and flowers inherit the refined and pristine style of the Wu School, evolving from tastes in Ink painting which date back to the Song and Yuan dynasties. Supplemented by his acute observations of nature, Chow’s paintings fully capture the charm of their subjects, reaching a level of sophistication and simplicity while reflecting the artist’s tranquil state of mind. As the master of Chinese studies, Ch’ien Mu (1895-1990) once said of Chow. His paintings are controlled and yet untrammelled in brushwork, graceful and yet strong in their resonance. His painting style matches that of his character, extending widely to the exterior and accumulating deeply in the interior. The exterior and interior (qualities) interact and merge to become one.
Despite tidal Changes and upheavals in history, Professor Chow has remained constant in feeling and in practice in his artistic journey upholding his faith and pursuit of tradition, while not resisting new trends. Indeed, he has been able to integrate and renew the substance of the Chinese masters with modern spirit. Regardless of subject matter, whether the scenic beauty of Jiangnan waters, or the raw magnificence of foreign landscapes, all are treated with traditional brush and ink to express their characteristics. Professor Chow has dedicated his life to the study of art, the education of the young and promotion of national art with such placidity and calmness. He is surely a contemporary ‘literati’ painter who deserves our full respect. ‘The Art of Johnson Chow represents the Chinese paintings that we should all treasure. It also exemplifies the principle that he always stresses, ‘Be yourself, and be at ease with what you come upon in life.’
Tang Hoi-chiu
Chief Curator
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Despite tidal Changes and upheavals in history, Professor Chow has remained constant in feeling and in practice in his artistic journey upholding his faith and pursuit of tradition, while not resisting new trends. Indeed, he has been able to integrate and renew the substance of the Chinese masters with modern spirit. Regardless of subject matter, whether the scenic beauty of Jiangnan waters, or the raw magnificence of foreign landscapes, all are treated with traditional brush and ink to express their characteristics. Professor Chow has dedicated his life to the study of art, the education of the young and promotion of national art with such placidity and calmness. He is surely a contemporary ‘literati’ painter who deserves our full respect. ‘The Art of Johnson Chow represents the Chinese paintings that we should all treasure. It also exemplifies the principle that he always stresses, ‘Be yourself, and be at ease with what you come upon in life.’
Tang Hoi-chiu
Chief Curator
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Professor Chow (5th left), Mrs. Hing-yu Luk Chow (Professor Chow’s wife, the lady in the wheel chair) (7th left) and Chief Curator Tang (2nd left) at Hong Kong Museum of Art.
周教授 ( 左 5), 陸馨如 ( 周士心夫人 , 坐輪椅的女士 )( 左 7) 及鄧館長 ( 左 2)合攝於香港藝術館