KAN KIT-KEUNG
PAINTING JUROR, JUDGE and WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR
KAN KIT-KEUNG - At an early age, Kan Kit-Keung studied traditional Chinese painting under Leung Pak-Yu, Chow Yat-Fung and Kan Maytin, and calligraphy under Au Kin-Kung. He obtained his PhD degree in Physics at the University of Maryland in 1975. He first exhibited his work and participated in art competitions in Hong Kong in 1964. Since then, he has held more than forty solo exhibitions, including one at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and participated in more than one hundred two-person and group exhibitions in Washington DC, New York, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and many other cities throughout the world.
He started his personal innovation of Chinese landscape painting by using traditional techniques to study rural landscapes of Hong Kong in the 1960s and created abstract landscapes through simplification in the 1970s and 1980s. After that, he developed his painting vocabulary anew and embarked on paintings of white water, waterfalls, and other themes of Nature. These works have enhanced his reputation as a master painter and he is credited by some with creating a new style of brush painting. In calligraphy, he has established individualistic styles in each of the five major scripts. His elegant style emphasizes the fluidity of brush strokes and their interrelationships. He also works on installations with his calligraphy.
On two separate occasions Dr. Kan has been Visiting Artist at Chung Chi College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His work is in the collections of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, University Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chung Chi College, The University of Hong Kong, the International Monetary Fund, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Art Bank of the State Department, the American Embassy in Moscow, Copelouzos Museum in Athens, Greece, and many private and corporate collectors.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Technical Competence - Whether it is executed in brush strokes or in Pomo, in color or in ink monochrome, in painting or in calligraphy, technical proficiency is fundamental. The judge will only accept work that a sufficient degree of technical competence is achieved so that the artist's idea can be expressed without hindrance in the piece.
Composition - The use of space is important for any two dimensional work. It cannot be ignored in any abstract or representational piece. Therefore, composition and the treatment of the subject matter are both imperative criteria in the judging process.
Originality is the most important element of a piece of artwork. Originality can show in many forms. It can be in technical styles, in subject matters, or in emotional expressions. The judge will look for pieces where the artistic ideas shine through and resonate with the viewers.