Grotto Fine Art presents Movement, the first one-man exhibition of Hong Kong artist Hung Fai. Inspired by Chinese ink tradition, Hung mediates his aesthetics with contemporary and fundamental elements. His new series Splash and Wild Grass shed new light on the usage of materials, methods and conceptualization in contemporary ink painting.

Hung Fai's painting is both methodical and spontaneous. Rather than mimicking the objective or figurative world, Hung relies on repertoire from experimental ink painting to achieve a conceptual composition. Instead of using fine brush to control ink traces, the artist let the free flow of ink and its interaction with paper to create forms. The system is called diffusion. It is a methodical process that involves careful planning and execution. In the multifold layers of wet Chinese xuan paper, ink diffuses and penetrates the moist paper. The movement of the ink at this stage is spontaneous. As the ink wash with different gradient transcends each layer and surface, it condenses and forms an irregular and symmetrical image. The compositions from Hung's series Splash are direct result from this method of diffusion.

Hung Fai's series Wild Grass features his latest attempt in conceptual ink painting. Inspired by the Chinese literary master Lu Xun's famous prose, the artist reflects on minor historical narratives marginalized by mainstream records. Suppressed by those in power, wild grass whispers from the fringe with an unyielding ideological agenda. With hundreds of horizontal ink lines meticulously drawn on each painting, Hung embedded these obscure voices in dark and pale lines. Streams of ink with countless gradients diffuse and render, deviate and amplify, signifying the suppressed and giving forms to the obscure. Feeble voices in eclipse are invigorated among the neat lines and stray ink. Hung's conceptualization of ink brings forth a human spirit stemmed from historical heterogeneity. Minor yet substantial, each wild grass and its outcry is revived and chronicled by the fluidic movement of ink.

Hung Fai preserves and revitalizes traditional ink art with new methods and concept. Devoid of colors, Hung's monochromatic paintings capture attention by the movement of ink from distinct origin to fading tail. Visually stunning and mind-absorbing, they demonstrate the subtle potency of this medium and the genre's relevance to history and events.

Born in Hong Kong in 1988, Vito Hung Fai has developed a deep interest in painting since childhood. He received a bachelor in Fine Art from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2013. With his bold experiments in ink, Hung was fairly awarded in academy and won the Hong Kong Art Prize 2013 (Merit).

-Grotto Fine Art

Image: © Hung Fai
Courtesy of the artist and Grotto Fine Art