Luis Chan

Luis Chan was born in Panama in 1905 to Cantonese parents who re-

settled in Hong Kong in 1910. Largely self-taught, in his early years Chan

was one of the most active ‘interpreters’ of western art through

translating foreign art journals, writing criticism and organising

exhibitions. Between the late 1920s and 1950s Chan developed a lively

English landscape style, and became known locally as the ‘King of

Watercolour’.

His style evolved as the city went through a half-century of dramatic

social cultural changes. By the late 1960s, his paintings started to

emerge as dreamscapes that portrayed the subconscious life of the city

and the psyche of the post-war generation. Luis Chan was also a widely

published art critic and writer, and a seminal catalyst in Hong Kong's art

circle. From his Oirst solo debut exhibition in 1933 until his Oinal show

in 1993, Luis Chan presented 47 solo exhibitions over his long career

and published countless articles on modern art.