3812 Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • News
  • Viewing Rooms
  • Publications
  • Press
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Collect by 3812
  • EN
  • 繁體
Menu
  • EN
  • 繁體

Hsiao Chin and Punto

Past exhibition
22 June - 6 July 2022 London
  • Overview
  • Works
  • Share
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Tumblr
    • Email
Overview
Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Continuity 續, 1962, Acrylic and ink on canvas 布上壓克力、墨水, 48.2 x 100cm
Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Continuity 續, 1962, Acrylic and ink on canvas 布上壓克力、墨水, 48.2 x 100cm

In the postwar global artworld, Hsiao Chin’s achievements are both singular and remarkable. He helped to shape the agendas of both European and Asian art; was a member of the first Chinese art group with an abstract art agenda; the artist who introduced Tapies to Buddhism; an artist whose work has been collected by both western and Asian museums– and the only Chinese artist to be co-founder of a European art movement, the influential Punto Movement that flourished in Milan from 1961 to 1966. This exhibition is devoted largely to the works in the Punto years and after.

 

As western museums and galleries begin to examine the influence of eastern aesthetics on western art, Hsiao Chin’s Punto movement which he founded with the Italian artist Antonio Calderera and the Japanese artist Azuma Kenjiro begins to be recognized as a key European art movement connecting ‘east’ and ‘west’ – one that made introspection and meditation its guiding principles, drawing on the work of Lao Tse and other Chinese philosophers. Advocates of Punto included Lucio Fontana, whose reputation helped popularise the movement, as well as artists associated with the Zero Group and Op Art. As Philip Dodd, the curator and former Director of London’s ICA has said,

 

‘As an interest in spirituality and art surfaces again, Hsiao Chin's practice feels exemplary and his mix of European and Asian art profoundly timely.’

 

 

Hsiao Chin’s Punto Spirit

 

Punto, in Italian means 'point' or ‘dot’ which implicitly gestures towards Eastern philosophy from which all things are in one. From the circle, Hsiao Chin has developed his cosmology and philosophy of life through his art. In Artist as Astronaut, a major retrospective exhibition held in Song Art Museum, Beijing in 2021,  Hsiao said,

 

“My decades of research and experience in Eastern and Western art, philosophy, religion, mysticism and space civilization have formed a foundation for my interpretation of the essence of the universe and the cyclical evolution of life forces. The broad nourishment to be found within these great ideas is the source of my creative inspiration, regardless of the creative themes or titles.My artworks place a greater emphasis on the cosmic unity connected to human spiritual life, and the sentient energy that resides deep within all tangible and intangible life, forms of matter, cultures and religions, driving their motion and coexistence.That is why I call myself an astronaut, a man of the universe.”

 

Hsiao Chin organised thirteen Punto exhibitions across Europe and Asia from 1961 to 1966, bringing together twenty-six artists from eleven countries, making Punto one of the first large scale collaborations uniting artists from the East and West.

 

Born in Shanghai in 1935, Hsiao Chin was one of a number of Chinese artists who settled in Europe in the 1950s - others include Zao Wou-ki, whose impact on French modern art was analogous to Hsiao Chin’s on Italian art. In 1964, Hsiao Chin became the first Chinese artist after Zao Wou-ki, to have a solo exhibition in Paris, presented by the eminent Galerie Internationale d'Art Contemporain, which represented him from 1963-1966. During the 60s and early 70s, he travelled extensively in Europe and the United states, In the latter, he met, among others, Willem De Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Sam Francis and Mark Rothko.

 

Hsiao Chin is a visionary Chinese artist whose entire life and work is a testament to his openness to the world and its cultures, and especially to the exchange between cultures. His works can be found in international collections, including Museum of Modern Art (MoMA, USA), Philadelphia Museum of Art (USA), Shanghai Art Museum (China) Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (Italy), Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (Germany) and M+ Museum (Hong Kong).

 

The First Return to the U.K. since 1966

 

Hsiao Chin and Punto at 3812 Gallery London is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the U.K since his solo at Signals Gallery, London in 1966. Produced with the support of the Hsiao Chin Art Foundation, this exhibition presents the iconic works that have been widely presented in exhibitions or retrospectives in major museums in recent years, including Musée national des arts asiatiques Guimet, Paris, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Latvia in 2020, and Song Art Museum, Beijing in 2021. Highlights of the exhibition include a collection of rare works from the Punto period such as La Forza (1962), Silencio (1962), The Awakening (1962), Beginning of Tao (1962), Power of the Light (1965) and Inner Light (1966).

 

Calvin Hui, the exhibition curator and Co-founder of 3812 Gallery says,

“When I take in Hsiao Chin's paintings and consider his journey in life, my heart opens to the vivid and chromatic effects of his works in the West. Hsiao Chin viscerally inhabits Eastern aesthetics and religious philosophy and offers them to the world, and then brings back a powerful spiritual strength to his homeland".

 

Hsiao Chin in his studio, 1962

 

Philip Dodd once commented, 

‘A Chinese artist at the heart of the 60s European avant-garde: Hsiao Chin's career and his wildly inventive paintings challenge most categories. His peers may appear to be the Italian Lucio Fontana and the American Kenneth Noland - but in his search for a language of painting that can incarnate spiritual experiences, the only comparable painter of the time is Mark Rothko - which makes holding Hsiao Chin's retrospective in Mark Rothko's hometown museum so compelling.’

 

Akin to a circle, Hsiao’s journey epitomises an eternal process of departing and returning to the original point.

 

Hsiao Chin and Punto kicks off a year-long international programme to celebrate the artist’s lifelong achievement. It includes a dedicated display at 3812 gallery’s stand (Stand 617) at Masterpiece London 2022 (30 June - 6 July).

 

 

Calvin Hui - Co-founder and Curator

 


 

 Hsiao Chin and Punto, Mapping Post-War Avant-Garde     

A monograph, Mapping Post-War Avant-Garde: Hsiao Chin and Punto International by Dr. Joshua Gong was published by Unicorn Publishing in June 2020.

  • Artist Biography
  • 藝術家簡歷
Works
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Painting - BA 繪畫 - BA, 1959
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Painting - BA 繪畫 - BA, 1959
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Pittura-CB 繪畫-CB, 1959
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Pittura-CB 繪畫-CB, 1959
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Retain 存, 1961
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Retain 存, 1961
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Continuity 續, 1962
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Continuity 續, 1962
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, La Forza 勁, 1962
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, La Forza 勁, 1962
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Il silenzio 靜, 1962
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Il silenzio 靜, 1962
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Beginning of Tao-2 道之始-2, 1962
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Beginning of Tao-2 道之始-2, 1962
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Beginning of Tao-6 道之始-6, 1962
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Beginning of Tao-6 道之始-6, 1962
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Awakening 覺然, 1962
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Awakening 覺然, 1962
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Cause of Origin-1 緣起-1, 1964
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Cause of Origin-1 緣起-1, 1964
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Cause of Origin-2 緣起-2, 1965
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Cause of Origin-2 緣起-2, 1965
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Power of the Light 光之力, 1965
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Power of the Light 光之力, 1965
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Inner Light 內在的光, 1966
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Inner Light 內在的光, 1966
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The God from Origin 源神, 1966
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The God from Origin 源神, 1966
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Admiration (L'attrazione) 相傾, 1966
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Admiration (L'attrazione) 相傾, 1966
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Great Ego in Infinity 無限中之大我, 1967
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Great Ego in Infinity 無限中之大我, 1967
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Nero 黑, 1967
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Nero 黑, 1967
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Tension-VI 張力-VI, 1968
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Tension-VI 張力-VI, 1968
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Energy 能量, 1968
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Energy 能量, 1968
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Ascendance 昇華, 1969
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Ascendance 昇華, 1969
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Poised to Roar 趨翔, 1974
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Poised to Roar 趨翔, 1974
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Hidden Secret 蘊, 1974
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Hidden Secret 蘊, 1974
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Love & Contemplation 愛與靜觀, 1975
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Love & Contemplation 愛與靜觀, 1975
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Infiniti Aspetti 眾萬象, 1979
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Infiniti Aspetti 眾萬象, 1979
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Chi-315 炁-315, 1984
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Chi-315 炁-315, 1984
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Rainshower-28 陣雨-28, 1985
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Rainshower-28 陣雨-28, 1985
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Rainshower-29 陣雨-29, 1985
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Rainshower-29 陣雨-29, 1985
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Rainshower-30 陣雨-30, 1985
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Rainshower-30 陣雨-30, 1985
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Together 齊心, 1985 - 2019
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Together 齊心, 1985 - 2019
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Dallo stesso origine 同源, 1990
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Dallo stesso origine 同源, 1990
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Eternal Garden of Mysterious 神秘的永久花園, 1995
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, The Eternal Garden of Mysterious 神秘的永久花園, 1995
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Power of the New Universe (Il potere dell’ Universo Nuovo) 新宇宙之能, 1997
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Power of the New Universe (Il potere dell’ Universo Nuovo) 新宇宙之能, 1997
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, La meditazione sul passaggio di grande soglia-4 度大限之冥想-4, 1997
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, La meditazione sul passaggio di grande soglia-4 度大限之冥想-4, 1997
  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Chi-5 炁-5, 2011
    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤, Chi-5 炁-5, 2011
Close

Related artist

  • Hsiao Chin 蕭勤

    Hsiao Chin 蕭勤

Back to exhibitions

3812 GALLERY HONG KONG

26/F, Wyndham Place, 40-44 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong

11- 7pm Monday - Friday

Phone: +852 2153 3812

hongkong@3812cap.com


 

 

 

     3812 GALLERY LONDON

        21 Ryder Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 6PX

        10 - 6.30pm Monday - Friday 11 - 2pm Saturday 

        Phone: +44 203 982 1863
        london@3812cap.com

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
LinkedIn, opens in a new tab.
WeChat, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list
Send an email
Manage cookies
Copyright 3812 Gallery 2023.
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Sign up for updates on exhibitions, artists and events

Interests *

Signup