Fung Ming Chip, 160503, 2016, ink on paper, 48 7/8 x 71 5/8 in.

This is the last opportunity to see the exhibition Fung Ming Chip: Traces of Time at Fu Qiumeng Fine Art before it closes on May 20.

The show includes works from the latest series by the artist (b. 1951 in Guangdong and raised in Hong Kong), entitled NumberS. These are juxtaposed with representative examples drawn from his lifelong exploration of the art of calligraphy and the various scripts he has developed during this process.

To better understand Fung Ming Chip's approach, read the following interview conducted over email by the exhibition's curator, Dr. Daniel Greenberg.

Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023

Fu Qiumeng Fine Art is currently exhibiting a special presentation of Chinese artist Fung Ming Chip (冯明秋, b. 1951)’s latest series, NumberS, while also showcasing the artist’s unique approach to the medium of shufa (书法, the art of writing) through a selection of works taken from across his long career. Born in Guangdong and raised in Hong Kong, Fung began his artistic career after he moved to New York City in 1977. His first experiments in seal carving (篆刻, zhuanke) deconstructed the forms of Chinese characters in this traditional medium. This engagement with the written word led Fung to a broader study of Chinese characters in the art of shufa. Over the past forty years, Fung has invented over a hundred distinctive “scripts” that employ a wide range of styles and non-traditional processes, each of which explores how shufa works to represent the artist’s practice unfolding in time. Don’t miss your final chance to explore Fung Ming Chip’s conceptual calligraphy in “Traces of Time.” The exhibition will be on view until The exhibition will be on view until Saturday, May 20th.

Building upon conversations between the curator and artist during the installation and opening of this exhibition, the following interview was conducted via email.

Fung Ming Chip: Looking back now, the emergence of number script fifteen years ago was actually a wake-up call for me regarding the temporal nature of Chinese calligraphy. Over the past fifteen years, in my artistic creation pivoting around calligraphy, I occasionally used numbers instead of Chinese characters to eliminate the literary nature of the text, allowing the technique and composition to be manifested. In this way, numbers gradually became an integral part of my calligraphy practice. It wasn't until 2015 that I was certain that calligraphy is an art of time and I began to think about ways to make numbers as demarcations of time, constructing and exploring issues of painting.

Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023

Daniel Greenberg: NumberS Series utilizes and combines a wide range of artistic practices that you invented for other “scripts.” Does working with numbers and pictorial representation rather than characters change the meaning or visual characteristic of these processes?

Fung Ming Chip: Definitely! When an artwork contains text in the form of Chinese characters, most people who can read will try to understand its meaning, which can influence how viewers perceive the work and their emotions. Although there is little difference in the creative process and various techniques used between writing numbers and text, the audience's perception of the artwork can be significantly different. Whether or not there is literary significance, the use of numbers can evoke a very different feeling from the audience.

Daniel Greenberg: Numbers Series marks the first time you have used a razor to cut the surface of your works. What does this unique process add to your work both visually and intellectually?

Fung Ming Chip: In my opinion, the excision of the surface did not significantly change the composition of my artwork. Rather, it was simply a conceptual and technical necessity. Although it was my first time experimenting with excision, I knew exactly what the visual outcome would be. The use of excision serves the spatial needs of the artwork.

Daniel Greenberg: What parts of Chinese painting are you attempting to integrate into NumberS Series? What can painting express that shufa cannot?

Fung Ming Chip: My intention in creating the Numbers Series was to demonstrate the differences in how perspectives are perceived in Chinese and Western paintings, which is something that cannot be addressed through calligraphy.

Fung Ming Chip and Curator Dr. Dan M. Greenberg ©The FQM, 2023

Fung Ming Chip, NumberS: Transparent Script with Pagoda, 数字系列:宝塔透字, 2022, Ink on Paper, 27 1/8 x 56 1/4 in

Daniel Greenberg: In NumberS: Transparent Script with Pagoda, you include a seal with the Daoist phrase 元神出竅 and paint the forms of stupas or pagodas. How do Daoist and Buddhist ideas and imagery relate to your art?

Fung Ming Chip: Buddhism is a foreign religion that has had an influence on Taoism, but ultimately they are two different practices. You won't see Buddhist monks going to mountaintops to absorb the essence of the sun and moon. While I am not a Buddhist or a Taoist, I appreciate the philosophical thinking in Buddhism and the mystical concepts in Taoism. I believe that the two can complement each other, so I don't mind incorporating both into my artwork.

Installation view of 'Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions.' Photo by Chris Dunn.

Summoning Memories:  Art Beyond Chinese Borders
Friday, May 19, 2023–Registration at 9:00 am; Keynote presentation at 5:00 pm
1370 Southmore Blvd
Houston, TX 77004

Join Asia Society Texas for a symposium about the artists and issues featured in their current exhibition Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions.

Beginning with a guided gallery tour, guest curator Dr. Susan L. Beningson will lead a series of conversations with featured artists, including Bingyi, Cui Fei, Kelly Wang, Zheng Chongbin, and others, and joined by leading curators such as Dr. Hiromi Kinoshita (Philadelphia Museum of Art) and Dr. Zoe Kwok (Princeton University Museum of Art). Throughout this day of discussion, explore the breadth and depth of cultural, historical, and artistic themes on view in the exhibition as we rethink and reimagine the histories, traditions, and artistic practices of artists of Chinese and Chinese American descent.

This event is free and open to the public; registration required.

For more information and to register, click here.

Manish Pushkale | Between the memory and a metaphor of a Forest – II | Acrylic on Canvas | 32 x 56 in | 2022

Manish Pushkale:  Consistent (in)consistency
April 14-May 17, 2023 at Akar Prakar, Kolkata

For his latest exhibition 'Consistent (In)consistency', artist Manish Pushkale presents an extensive series of paintings deepening his enquiry into his ongoing exploration of deriving visual forms to soundscapes.

Working with large and small-scale formats, Pushkale's canvases are reflective of the textures of his background. Hailing from Bhopal, Manish is a self-taught artist who developed his practice as an artist at Bharat Bhavan’s creatively fertile environment. Evolving his artistic language over 25 years of practice, in his paintings Pushkale experiments with the imagery, working at the intersection of the personal and the spiritual.

The series of paintings presented in this exhibition is a result of his current enquiry. Playing with the notion of abstracting the auditory, the compositions transcend the tangible language of sound as we perceive them to be. This exhibition is evidence of the evolution of Pushkale’s artistic research while he remains faithful to his paintbrush, his preferred medium of choice.

—Siddhi Shailendra

Meera Mukherjee | Untitled | Bronze | 9.5 x 8 x .5 in

Meera Mukherjee:  Life in all Things
April 28-May 26, 2023 at Akar Prakar, Delhi

“I belonged to a country which also had a great tradition of its own. It was the heritage which had in a thousand ways folded me. And, so though I was at the moment living, learning and growing in the West, I should still find my own way to myself, rooted in the great Indian tradition.” —Meera Mukherjee

On the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of artist Meera Mukherjee, Akar Prakar presents ‘Meera Mukherjee: Life in all Things’ to celebrate her life and works.

Meera is unravelled as “the woman behind the metal,”as a woman of flesh and blood. In the initial years of trial and toil, she started turning each pebble to a new path and no trouble seemed enough for her at one time. This exhibition is dedicated to remembering Meera and her genius, her commitment to her art, through the various mediums that she used during her journey as an artist, from wooden dolls to ceramic tiles, plaster of Paris to carvings on marble and terracotta works both large and intimate, drawings and paintings and finally her sculptures in Bronze which defined her artistic practice and which she struggled to create in spite of her financial constraints. She would often plough back the funds she received from her sale to create more sculptures. We know that Meera often gave these away as gifts and was shy of asking for the price of the work and would sometimes use the weight of the bronze to define the price of the sculpture! Such was the simplicity of Meera. With passion and love, Meera brought rhythm and music, devotion and dedication, into everything she created. Through her art, she sings to us the theme which is life.