CHU Hing Wah
朱興華works in Hong Kong (b.1935, Guangdong)
Born in Guangdong Province in 1935, Chu Hing Wah moved to Hong Kong with his family in 1950. Although deeply interested in painting in his youth, Chu Hing Wah chose to train as a psychiatric nurse, pursuing his degree at Maudsley Hospital in London from 1960 to 1965. From this time on, his professional career and his art-making developed side by side. After his return to Hong Kong he worked in the field of psychiatric care for over 22 years, at the Castle Peak Psychiatric Hospital and Siu Lam Hospital for the Mentally Retarded, respectively. In 1992, Chu Hang Wah retired from the nursing profession and has been working as a full-time professional artist ever since.
During his years of study abroad, Chu frequently visited art galleries and museums, an experience that inspired his life-long interest in art. In 1972, he completed the certificate course in Art and Design from the Extra-Mural Studies of University of Hong Kong. With his main interest in painting, he became an active participant in various art groups and held many exhibitions throughout Hong Kong. He was also selected a number of times over the years for inclusion in the ‘Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition’ presented by the Urban Council and ‘The Visual Arts Society Annual Exhibition’.
Hing Wah uses Chinese pigments and ink applied with the technique of layering and diffusion to express his care for human feelings and the affairs of human life. Chu’s style and technique have the innocent quality of the primitive painter, but at its core, his art is infused with a sophisticated understanding. The emotional tenor of his works is free of any sense of crass urbanity even as his imagery is drawn from scenes of urban Hong Kong life. Through his extraordinary colours, and clean and simple compositions, he pieces together his memories of old Hong Kong. With his keen sensitivity to the fragility of the human psyche, Chu understands that for ordinary people in the city, life’s true pleasure is still found in the bonds of community and family. These are the strengths that enable us to withstand the corrosive quality of this commercialised age. They are the starting points from which we form a bond with our world. His depiction of traditional festivals and fragmented episodes in life also convey a strong sense of affection and contentment.
| 1935 | Born in Guangdong, China |
| 1960-1965 | Completed degree in psychiatric nursing at Maudsley Hospital, London |
| 1968-1989 | Staff nurse, Castle Peak Psychiatric Hospital, Hong Kong |
| 1972-1974 | Certificate course in Art and Design, Extra-mural Studies of Hong Kong University |
| 1974 | Became member of Visual Arts Society |
| 1982 | Became member of Hong Kong Sculptors Association |
| 1983-1986 | Chairman of the Visual Arts Society |
| 1989 | Staff nurse, Siu Lam Hospital for the Mentally Retarded, Hong Kong |
| 1992 | Retired from nursing profession |
Selected Solo Exhibition
| 2025 | Happy 90th Birthday Uncle Chu!, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 2023 | A Tribute to Chu Hing Wah, Ink Society, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre |
| 2022 | Chu Hing Wah: Bare Life, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 2017 | Living in Compassion: The Art of Chu Hing Wah, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 2015 | Reappear: Chu Hing Wah Charity Exhibition, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre |
| 2010 | Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Works by Chu Hing Wah, The University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong |
| 2006 | Chu’s 50 Years of Hong Kong, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 2003 | My Third Page: Dream and Reality, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 2000 | Chu Hing Wah, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong |
| Days in Europe, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong | |
| 1998 | Chu Hing Wah, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 1995 | Chu Hing Wah: Diary 1994, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 1992 | Chu Hing Wah: Reappearances, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| Chu Hing Wah: Reappearances, Hanart (Taipei) Gallery, Taipei | |
| 1989 | Chu Hing Wah, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong |
| 1988 | Chu Hing Wah, The Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture, Hong Kong |
| Selected Joint Exhibition | |
| 2026 | Think in INK: Creativity of Hong Kong Ink Art, Hong Kong Central Library |
| Pulse of Life·Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu Art Museum | |
| 2024 | Group Exhibition: Through the Lens of…, Chengdu Art Museum |
| 2021-2022 | Hong Kong: Here and Beyond, Main Hall Gallery, M+, Hong Kong |
| 2021 | Ink City, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong |
| 2019 | Hong Kong Experience·Hong Kong Experiment, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong |
| 2018 | Wan Chai Grammatica, Hong Kong Arts Centre |
| 2017 | Reunion, Rotunda, Exchange Square, Hong Kong |
| Art Interaction Hong Kong, Taiwan: Artmatch 22nd Annual Exhibition, Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre | |
| 2014 | Three Elders: Luis Chan, Gaylord Chan, Chu Hing-Wah, , Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| 2013 | Hong Kong Visual Arts Society 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Hong Kong City Hall |
| The Origin of Dao: New Dimensions in Chinese Contemporary Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong | |
| 2012 | A Tribute to Hong Kong Masters: Luis Chan, Irene Chou, Gaylord Chan, Liu Kuo-Sung, Chu Hing Wah, Wucius Wong, Leung KuiTing, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong |
| West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre (Opening Exhibition), West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong | |
| 2010 | Legacy and Creations: Ink Art vs Ink Art, Shanghai Art Museum; Hong Kong Museum of Art |
| 2008 | New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond (Evolving City Life), Hong Kong Museum of Art |
| Inheritance: 35th Anniversary Exhibition of Hong Kong Visual Arts Society, Hong Kong City Hall | |
| 2007 | Ink Contemporary: INK non INK, Artist Commune, Hong Kong |
| The New Face of Ink Painting, Central Plaza, Hong Kong | |
| Made in Hong Kong: Contemporary Art Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art | |
| 2003 | Ink Painting in Transition, Hong Kong Museum of Art; London University |
| 2002 | The 17th Asian International Art Exhibition, Daejeon Museum of Art, Korea |
| Shanghai in the Eyes of World Artists, Shanghai | |
| Genies or Madman, Artist Commune, Hong Kong | |
| 2001 | The 16th Asian International Art Exhibition, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou |
| Art Windows, art in public spaces, BODY SHOP, Hong Kong | |
| 2000 | The 15th Asian International Art Exhibition, Taiwan |
| Hong Kong Art 2000, Hong Kong Museum of Art | |
| 1999 | The Opening Exhibition of Shanghai Street Artspace, Shanghai Street Artspace, Hong Kong |
| 1998 | Silver Jubilee Anniversary Exhibition of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society, University Museum and Arts Gallery, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong |
| 1991 | Exhibition of the Visual Arts Society, Fundacao Oriente, Macau |
| Exhibition of the Hong Kong Sculptors Association, Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong University | |
| 1990 | Exhibition of the Urban Council Fine Arts Award Winners, Hong Kong Museum of Art |
| 1989 | Four Hong Kong Artists Exhibition, Rotunda, Exchange Square, Hong Kong |
| 4th Asian International Arts Exhibition, Seoul, Korea | |
| 1988 | Modern Chinese Art from Hong Kong, Hamburg, Germany |
| Exhibition of Ten Years of Hong Kong Sculpture, Hong Kong Arts Centre | |
| Exhibition of Hong Kong Contemporary Art, Beijing, China | |
| 3rd Asian International Arts Exhibition, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China | |
| 1985 | The Sculpture Show, Rotunda, Exchange Square, Hong Kong |
| 1984 | Contemporary Open Air Sculpture Exhibition, Piazza of Hong Kong Coliseum |
| 1974-1989 | The Visual Arts Society Annual Exhibitions, Hong Kong |
| 1972-1989 | Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition, Hong Kong |
