Book overview
Distributed by University Press of Florida on behalf of Asia Society Texas
The first major retrospective devoted to the pioneering ink painter--a bilingual English-Chinese publication
Hung Hsien: Between Worlds is the first major retrospective devoted to the pioneering ink painter Hung Hsien (b. 1933, Yangzhou), offering a long-overdue examination of an artist who has moved fluidly between cultures, traditions, and artistic movements. Bringing together more than 50 works spanning over seven decades, this bilingual English-Chinese publication traces Hung's evolution from her early training in traditional Chinese brushwork to the development of a radically personal visual language shaped by her transnational life. It is published by Asia Society Texas and Asia Society Hong Kong on the occasion of her retrospective exhibition.
After her family moved to Taiwan, Hung studied under the esteemed scholar-painter Prince Pu Ru before relocating to Chicago in 1958. There, she encountered Abstract Expressionism and other modernist movements, which profoundly reshaped her approach to ink painting. By the mid-1960s, she had forged a distinctive synthesis. Her ink painting melds calligraphic line, lyrical abstraction, and bold color into compositions that resist easy categorization. One of the few women associated with Taiwan's avant-garde Fifth Moon Group, Hung played a vital role in redefining ink painting for a modern, global context, alongside such artists as Liu Kuo-Sung and Fong Chung-Ray.
Despite her contributions, Hung's work has often remained on the margins of dominant art historical narratives. This publication seeks to fill this gap, situating her practice within a broader story of global modernism and the critical role of Asian diaspora artists in shaping contemporary art.
Featuring essays by leading scholars including Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres, Einor Cervone, Owen Duffy, An-yi Pan, and B Li, Between Worlds offers new perspectives on Hung Hsien's enduring legacy. This book reveals an artist whose work continues to resonate across generations and geographies.