The Art Exhibition of Cheung Chi Wai (2019)

In 2019, I embarked on a new venture. From July to August of that year, the “Heart-Image Landscape – Cheung Chi Wai and Japanese Painters Joint Exhibition” opened at the China Cultural Center in Tokyo, Japan. I exhibited 128 of my works, alongside 25 paintings by six Japanese artists. The curator of the exhibition, Mr. Hideichi Idekawa, a senior Japanese art critic, commented on my paintings, saying: “Cheung Chi Wai’s paintings have profound meaning, expressing the sadness that everyone has experienced. Some people may not understand his paintings, but those who do will love them to their very core.” During the exhibition, I interacted with Japanese calligraphers and painters, exchanging ideas and learning from each other.

From September 5th to 22nd, 2019, a joint exhibition of works by Marie Rauzy and Chi Wai was held at the National Senate Art Center (Musée de l’Orangerie) in Paris, France. Subsequently, from October 25th to November 24th, Marie Rouzy and I held a joint exhibition in Shenzhen, China, simultaneously at the China Merchants Bank Shenzhen Art Center and the Shenzhen Baijing Art Space. Marie Rouzy is the great-granddaughter of Cézanne, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and the only artistic heir of the Cézanne family. Since 2016, I have collaborated with her every year, either in China or France, and we have completed over 60 works. This exhibition showcased both our individual works and our collaborative creations. It is rare to see collaborations between Chinese and foreign artists in China, so this exhibition caused a stir in Shenzhen. In an article, Marie Rouzy wrote: “Before collaborating with Chi Wai, I had experience working with other painters. But this time was completely different. The works we completed with Chi Wai were true works of art, not just an experiment. To my surprise, we didn’t realize that two people had mixed together to paint a picture, but it turned out to be such a good new work. It was a great moment of communication, a very rich response to each other’s claims. We will continue to collaborate, I am very happy, we must constantly update our work and our thinking.”