Man Fung-yi
Born in 1968, Man Fung-yi is a fine example of an artist who has blossomed, due to her own creativity and perseverance in art, despite having lived in the dry soil of the ex-cultural desert (Hong Kong). Her talent and hard work has since been recognised locally and abroad, earning her numerous awards, and she has exhibited in over 100 shows in various cities in Asia and Europe. Her works can be found in many public places such as Kowloon MTR station, Shatin City Art Square and The Upper House. Apart from the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Hong Kong Airport Authority, museums in Japan and China are also collectors of her work.
Man Fung-yi is a Hong Kong artist who has exhibited in over 100 shows in New York, Paris, London, Sweden, Barcelona, Beijing, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. She is actively involved in public art projects and over the years has won many awards issued from Hong Kong, China and the United States. Apart from the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Hong Kong Airport Authority, museums in Japan and China are also collectors of her work. In 2009 she became the first and only woman artist to be chosen in Sotheby’s inauguration of their Hong Kong Contemporary Art section. The same year, another piece of her sculptures was auctioned in Singapore.
The year 2001 marked a milestone in Man Fung-yi’s artistic career. It was during her pregnancy that she began to reinterpret the art of needlework by taking sticks of incense to burn neat circular patterns on silk and Chinese scroll paper. These elegant pieces are very well received. The Hong Kong Museum of Art and Hong Kong Heritage Museum not only invited her to exhibit, but are, amongst other public institutions and corporates, fond collectors of her work.
As Man became more and more recognised, she focused on creating more art. She transposed her circular emblem onto 3-dimensional steel and brass pieces, asserting herself into the conventionally male-dominated discipline of sculpture. She also began to weave with metal threads, making metallic jackets, dresses, shoes and bags which are derived from her and her family’s own personal garments. Man exemplifies the interrelatedness of art and life. Her concepts, means of expression and formal choices are synthesised and developed to a high level of maturity. She succeeds in balancing the masculine and feminine, and harmonises oriental traditions and concepts with a medium and forms that are more closely affiliated with contemporary western art. Her work appeals to men and women from all over the world, thus demonstrating how high quality art can be a universal language that transcends gender and cultural differences.
Man demonstrates that there can be a feminine visual language in the male-dominated field of sculpture. Her work appeals to men and women from all over the world, thus demonstrating how high quality art can be a universal language that transcends gender and cultural differences.
