Hung Hsien
Between Worlds
Asia Society Texas, Houston

Nonagenarian artist Hung Hsien’s exhibition at Asia Society Texas exuded the rarefied air of a long-hidden local treasure finally being unearthed. Having resided in Houston for over 40 years, she had lived, unbeknownst to the curators, merely a block away from the museum now hosting her first retrospective at the age of 91.

Arranged chronologically, the show brimmed with ink scrolls, oil paintings, sketches, and studies accumulated over decades, highlighting the artistic evolutions tied to the geographical and cultural parameters of Hung’s peripatetic life; over the years, the artist lived in various locations in China, Taiwan, the US, Hong Kong, and Canada. The earliest work in the exhibition was created in 1950, when Hung was just 17 years old, while the most recent dates from 1999. At the beginning of our walkthrough, curator Owen Duffy urged Hung on multiple occasions to return to her practice, with Hung demurring each time.

The first gallery showcased examples from Hung’s early training in Taiwan under Pu Ru, a court painter and cousin of the last Emperor of China. Tree Study I and II (both 1952) depict delicate pine needles, volumetric cliffs, and atmospheric fog, demonstrating exemplary brushwork. The range and virtuosity of her skills is further exemplified in the spirited The Demon Queller Zhong Kui (1953), where a demon with fine, whiskery hair holds an umbrella, evocatively sketched in a few bold strokes.