College of Liberal Art 2nd Floor Hallway with exhibits on display
By Greg Hugh
Poetic Visions, an exhibit featuring selections by the artist Pat Suet-Bik Hui許雪碧, was recently launched by the College of Liberal Arts at Johnson Hall on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Born in Hong Kong, Hui studied painting under Lui Shou-Kwan and earned a BA in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. She attended the UMN’s Department of Philosophy as a graduate student from 1967 to 1971 and as a non-degree student in Studio Art and Design at UMN from 1971-1974. She founded galleries in Canada and the United States including Traffic Zone Centre for Visual Arts here in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District.
According to Professor Christine Murran, the College of Liberal Arts has been working on an art exhibition for Hui at the CLA building of U of M for a while. The exhibit is scheduled to be on display for ninety days and invited guests on May 18th, opening day, got to enjoy snacks and hear a presentation delivered by Professor Murran.
Murran stated that Hui has developed various unique techniques of painting. This exhibit, Poetic Visions is based on the Chinese literati concept of merging poetry and painting in verse: Poetry in painting/Painting in poetry.
Hui’s artistry offers vibrant interpretations of the colors of sky, water, pasture and flowers. Fresh lines of color form the polychromatic foundation for monochrome ink used writing her various calligraphic scripts. Strong thick brush strokes of color move vertically, sometimes horizontally, across the paper. Blues and greens burst with a sense of spring showers while darker hues add powerful tones to the poems. In her work, literary metaphors take on new dimensions with their distinct milieus of color.
Another Chinese literati ideal that is embraced in Hui’s work is the “Three Perfections”: Poetry/Painting/Calligraphy. We see this in the calligraphic representation of classic poetry on color, with an additional element – the inclusion of Hui’s original translations of these poems. Assisted by her bilingual training and her deep knowledge of classical Chinese poetry, Hui has translated hundreds of poems into English, many with a unique, contemporary fair. This exhibit includes a range of classical poetry by various artists such as Su Shih and many others.
Many first time dinner guests of Pat Hui. Photos by Paul Kwowk and Mark Stanley
Not only did special invited guests of Hui that attended the opening night of the Exhibit get to visually view the artwork, thirty of them were treated to a special Chinese banquet held at Peking Garden as Hui’s guest.
Pat Hui Exhibition at Johnston Hall, 2/F- College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota: Open only Office Hours: 8-4 pm,-Monday to Friday -101 Pleasant Street SE-Minneapolis, MN 55455-Call: 612-625-2020 Email: [email protected] to verify hours and dates.