Fung Ming Chip 馮明秋 Guangdong, China, b. 1951

Self-taught, Fung Ming Chip is primarily an artist of the word: essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, Zhuan Ke (seal carving) and Shu Fa (calligraphy). He was born in Guangdong, raised in Hong Kong and moved to New York City in his mid-20s. Sensing the artist within since childhood, his encounter with visual arts in Manhattan and beyond re-awakened this spirit. Responding with his unique approach to the written word, he undertook exploring Zhuan-ke (seal carving) and Shu-fa (Chinese calligraphy).

Much of Fung’s work has explored ideograms and pictographs – particularly Chinese characters – and investigated how meaning is transmitted in written languages through a combination of form and sound. These ideas lie at the heart of much of Fung’s work, including steles, sculptures, Shu-fa and ink paintings, seal carvings, engravings on mixed media and stop-motion animation in this exhibition. 

Since he began working as an artist in the 1970s, Fung has repeatedly analyzed the visual and conceptual possibilities of individual Chinese characters by experimenting with lines, strokes, compositional arrangement and materials, respectfully pushing the boundaries of this traditional medium.

Among his many international exhibitions, Fung had a major solo retrospective at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 1999. He was artist in residence at Cambridge University, and his work is included in major private and institutional collections around the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, White Rabbit Collection, Sydney and Israel Museum, Jerusalem. He has also been active as a painter, photographer, and sculptor. In 2008, he created Les Poemes du Mandarin tableware pattern for Hermes. Fung currently resides in Hong Kong.