October 23rd to 30th, 2022

Amy Leung was born in Hong Kong. Early in her career, she studied under the master of the Lingnan School, Zhao Shao'ang. In the early 1990s, she furthered her studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing with Professor Zhang Lichen, specializing in large freehand brushwork of flowers and birds. In 1999, she obtained her master's degree and in 2000, she published her first collection of works, "Joy."

In 2012, she published her second collection, "Harmony," and held a solo exhibition in Beijing. In 2022, she held a solo contemporary ink art exhibition, "Fusion of Images," in Beijing and published a corresponding collection of works.

Currently, she is a member of the Hong Kong Artists Association and the Hong Kong Modern Women Artists Association. She is a representative and influential contemporary ink painter in Hong Kong. Large freehand brushwork represents the expressiveness, intentionality, spirituality, and elegance of Chinese painting's brush and ink structure, embodying the cultural cultivation, philosophical thinking, and aesthetic height of the Chinese people. Amy Leung persists in integrating modern artistic concepts into traditional methods to expand her innovative path, blending the strengths of the modern Lingnan School into the traditional large freehand brushwork, forming a unique style. She loves to depict the pure and simple beauty of natural objects, "brilliant to the extreme, returning to simplicity," and incorporates her perception of the world and life beliefs into her brush and ink imagery.

Curator's Foreword:

The Three Meanings of "Fusion of Images"

The integration of traditional brush and ink with contemporary imagery has always been a challenge in modern Chinese painting. This challenge has been deeply and personally addressed in Amy Leung's recent creative explorations. As a contemporary freehand flower and bird painter with a strong sense of innovation, Amy Leung, who was born in Hong Kong, studied early under the master of the Lingnan School, Zhao Shao'ang, and later moved to Beijing to study large freehand brushwork of flowers and birds with Professor Zhang Lichen at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In the freehand tradition of flower and bird painting and in the contemporary context of humanity and nature, she continually seeks new artistic styles and expressive languages.

This exhibition, titled "Fusion of Images," focuses on the academic theme and central expression of "fusion." In this context, "fusion" has three meanings: First, "fusion" as in melting, symbolized by the melting of ice and snow. This is illustrated by Amy Leung's recent series of works on Antarctic themes, including depictions of icebergs, water, and scenes of penguins and snowy landscapes. Through the melting of icebergs, she reflects on global warming, offering a humanistic reflection and close observation. Second, "fusion" as in blending, transcending time and space. The experimental ink images of glaciers blend subtly and richly with the traditional freehand images of flourishing flowers, like the changing of seasons from winter to summer. The cold and warm, sparse and full, silent and lively, the silent ice and snow and the vibrant flowers, are tightly integrated in her works. Third, "fusion" as in intertwining, crossing geographic boundaries. Amy Leung's artistic explorations between Hong Kong and Beijing, and even between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, embody the fusion and mutual influence of Eastern and Western cultures and regional cultures. In her images of ice and snow and the vitality of living creatures, Eastern and Western cultures and Northern and Southern regions are quietly and subtly intertwined and dialoguing.

It is in these three contexts of "fusion of images" that Amy Leung's ink explorations achieve an extension in humanistic thought and natural realm, entering a new realm of brush and ink language and imagery.

Yu Yang (Curator, Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts) October 2022