The first Italian retrospective of HO KAN will be held at the Villa Reale in Monza, from 9 June to 9 July 2018, one of the most representative artists of the modern pictorial movement in Taiwan. The curator Sabine Vazieux has selected 69 works created from 1955 until today.

HO KAN is one of the pioneers of Chinese abstractionism in Taiwan and one of the founding members of Ton Fang Art Group in 1957. This group, considered the most influential post-war artistic revolution reached the peak of success in the 60s, bringing innovation and a such a big change in modern Taiwanese art that the press dubbed them “The eight great outlaws”.

HO KAN was born in 1932 in Nanjing (Nanking) in Eastern China and attended the National Taipei University of Education / Department of Art in Taiwan. In these years he often visited the studio of Li Chun-Shan whose enlightening teaching led him to discover his artistic vision. Starting from the art of calligraphy and intaglio HO has developed a very original abstract oriental painting, characterized by a minimalist and poetic style at the same time, which combines with skillful balance the classicism of western painting to the structure and the line of Chinese art.

His first works are surrealist, with dark and mysterious aspects, but also visionary and amazement that we find – the latter – in all his later production. After this first phase, starting from the 60s, his research changed radically. He began to explore abstract and geometric shapes also stimulated by a trip to Italy, where he decided to move permanently in 1964, choosing as a city where to live Milan.

In these years he begins to experiment with the basic elements of painting – points, lines, planes and blocks of colors – which he applies to the Eastern philosophical point of view that all things are connected to each other and feed each other, which, in turn, generates an infinite world. Leaving the dark and intense atmosphere of his first painting, HO achieves a freer height in his works with poetically refined and emotionally expressive, elegant and expansive images.

Since then, HO KAN has always lived and worked in Milan, although he often returns for long periods in Taiwan, where he has exhibited for important galleries such as the Liang Gallery and the Chini Gallery.

In Italy he has close friendship with numerous artists including Gianni Brusamolino, Enrico Cattaneo, Roberto Crippa, Sergio Dangelo, Nino Di Salvatore, Alfredo Mazzotta, Mario Nigro, Angela Occhipinti, Turi Simeti. He met art historians such as Palma Bucarelli and the publisher Vanni Scheiwiller. Many have written about him, including Giulia Veronesi, Luca Pietro Nicoletti, Elena Pontiggia, Alberto Veca and Miklos Varga.

His works have also been exhibited in Switzerland (Berne, Soro and Grans), Korea (Seoul) and Japan (Tokyo), Italy (Milan, Florence, Bologna, Castellanza, Ferrara, Como, Lecco etc.) and in China. In 2016, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan dedicated a major retrospective entitled “Reverberations – HO KAN”.

Beyond shapes and colors

A retrospective of HO KAN

Monza (Italy), Villa Reale, Representative Rooms

Inauguration: Saturday 9 June at 11.30

Until 9 July 2018

Where

Villa Reale di Monza, Viale Brianza 1 – Monza (Italy)
Apartments of the Prince of Naples, Duchess of Genoa and Emperors of Germany – First Floor Noble.

Tel. +39 0392240024 ǀ www.villarealedimonza.it

Entrance Ticket : Entrance ticket to the representative rooms | Full: € 8.00, Reduced: € 6-4.00

Opening hours Tuesday to Sunday 10 am-7pm, closed on Mondays. The ticket office closes an hour earlier

Bookshop Tel. +39 0392327348 ǀ [email protected]

How to get

TRAIN_ The nearest railway station to the Villa Reale is Monza FS, about 2 km (about 25 minutes on foot).

AUTO_From Milan, Como, Varese or Lecco: follow signs for Monza – Villa Reale.

Car park_ Viale Regina Margherita, Via Petrarca and Viale Cavriga (Monza Park).