HON CHI FUN 韓志勳 (1922-2019, HONG KONG)

Oil and acrylic on canvas

Signed and dated

129cm x 129cm

韓志勳 暮光之中

1996年作

壓克力畫布

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PROVENANCE:

Alisan Fine Art, Hong Kong;

English Private Collection

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NOTE:

Please refer to similar works sold at auctions: Christie's, Hong Kong, 29 Nov 2015, lot 666; Christie's, Hong Kong, 29 Nov 2015, lot 665.

Born in Hong Kong in 1922, Hon Chi-fun is regarded as one of the city's most iconic artists. A self-taught painter, Hon began his artistic journey in the 1950s, initially practicing calligraphy and brushwork with his siblings on stone slabs. By 1956, he had fully committed to his art while working at the Hong Kong General Post Office. During this time, he deepened his study of Western art movements and formed connections with fellow Hong Kong artists Luis Chan and Lui Shou-kwan. In 1964, Hon co-founded the Circle Art Group, which operated until 1971, and that same year he received the Gold Medal at the Third Hong Kong International Salon of Paintings.

After completing his landmark work Bath of Fire (1968), a series of three oil and screen prints on canvas, Hon embarked on his first major European tour, visiting the Venice Biennale in Italy and Documenta in Germany. In 1969, he was awarded the John D. Rockefeller III Fellowship Fund and spent a year in New York before traveling through South America and India. These international experiences greatly expanded his understanding of diverse artistic traditions. Known for his distinctive paintings featuring circles, Hon once said, "The circle is me."

Hon's art has been celebrated in major retrospectives, including those at the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong in 1999, the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2005, the CityU Gallery in 2007, and the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre in 2019. His works are held in prominent collections, including those of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, M+, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Land, Hong Kong MTR Corporation, Deutsche Bank Hong Kong, and the National City Bank of Chicago in the United States. A monumental mural by Hon, The Making of the Spheres Series (1988), can be found in the lobby of Jardine House in Hong Kong.