Cheung Yee: Fortune

A selection of Cheung Yee (b. 1936, Guangzhou)’s paper-cast mural artworks,developed since the 70’s, will be presented at AO Vertical Art Space.

Cheung Yee is not exactly a newcomer in the Hong Kong art scene, as a professor of fine art at the Chinese University has been a mentor to many of Hong Kong’s younger generation and his work has been featured with various solo exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Deeply inspired by Chinese culture in both technique and style, Cheung Yee employs an old lost craft of paper making combined with his sculptural talent. Cheung Yee carves out wooden molds, each one unique and fills the voids with his hand made paper. Most pieces are finished with a monotone primary color, like blue, green, red and gold, reminding us of the Chinese color palette used in many Chinese temples and palaces. The result is vibrant 3-D mural sculptures laden with intricate patterns and symbols.

Some works are embossed with fortune telling tortoises, ancient poems and writings, others reveal narratives through little figurines acting out old stories and legends, and many display patterns inspired by the hexagrams of the I-Ching. Despite being so deeply inspired by tradition, his work feels surprisingly young and contemporary.
Cheung Yee‘s feng-shui friendly artworks are the ideal exhibition to celebrate the transition to the New Year.