Message from the Library
It is with great honor that I write a message for this exhibition. After almost two years of devoted work, Chen Keng is holding his exhibition of oil paintings in our Library this fall.
An acclaimed oil painter from Guangzhou, China, Chen accepted our invitation to lead an artist-in-residence project at HKUST in 2016. Under this special project organized by the HKUST Center for the Arts (CFA), Chen created 50 pieces of oil paintings for display at our University. The Library was privileged to be asked to show Chen’s works in our Gallery and to partner with CFA to hold a series of events in conjunction with this exhibition.
Since the very beginning, our Library has been active in promoting art education on campus. The University’s first art exhibition was organized by the Library in 1992 which featured the works of Huang Miaozi (黃苗子) and Yu Feng (郁風), two masters of Chinese painting and calligraphy. This exhibition received great response and supported our advocacy for the value of arts to the students. Over the years, we continued with our efforts to engage students successfully through various arts and cultural activities, including exhibitions, tours, talks, demonstrations, and workshops. We also expanded our art space to create more exhibition possibilities. Our University puts a strong emphasis on our students’ holistic development, of which art education is an indispensable part. It is gratifying to see that our Library has been able to contribute to the University’s mission in this regard.
Exhibiting Chen’s works in our Library is a great delight and certainly will provide our students with a special opportunity to appreciate the works of, and to learn from, a great master. Chen’s oil painting exhibition is not the first of its kind in our Library. But what makes his exhibits so unique is that they were all painted around the theme of “Flying”. “Flying” to Chen has a very deep meaning. It is not just about physical motions, but also a release of our souls and minds. Looking at Chen’s works, one will be amazed to see how he articulates man’s flying dreams in drawings and transforms our pursuit for freedom into art. He magically combines rationality and sensibility, arts and technology, religion and science, resulting in an emotional but logical world full of imagination and technical mastery. Under his artful yet rational manifestations, the paintings vividly reveal our long-cherished quest for virtue, beauty, and eternity.
The exhibition of Chen Keng promises to be a feast for your eyes. I invite you to personally experience this flying journey which the painter has vibrantly drawn for you.
Diana Chan
University Librarian, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology