2003

QK – A Specimen Collection of Chan Yuk Keung

This is the catalogue for the exhibition of the same name.

‘After graduating from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chan Yuk-keung went to study in the US. He returned to Hong Kong in the late ’80s with a M.A. degree and has since been teaching in the Fine Art Dept. of the CUHK. As a student growing up under the then prevailing notions of ‘Combining East and West’ in the ’60s and ’70s, these were also principles that Chan shared with his Chinese Modernist mentors. It was only while establishing himself as an artist in the ’90s that he found himself struggling between internationalization and localization. Forced, but motivated, under the circumstances, Chan would generate his own brand of philosophy in mixed media as a contemporary art practice. As a scholar in university, Chan felt the obligation to pursue general value and accountability for art in society, addressing the dilemma between personal enjoyment and social engagement. His approach to art as an intellectual exercise of knowledge has been widely disseminated throughout his lectures, writings and talks. For these reasons and because his thoughts and dreams are both exemplify and belong to his generation, Chan was chosen as subject of study for the third installment of Para/Site Art Space’s Artists of the 1980s series.’ – from the catalogue