Upon entering the Ashmolean Museum’s Reforming Abstraction exhibition, visitors are immediately struck by the diversity and energy of the works on display. 2D artworks line both the left and right walls, their vivid colours and dynamic shapes standing out against the gallery’s plain backdrop. The exhibition presents a wide range of media – from sculptures and woodcraft to experimental prints – highlighting the bold innovations of Asian artists during the late 1900s, with a particular focus on the Hong Kong sculptor, Cheung Yee.
Cheung Yee was a visionary who helped redefine the boundaries of Hong Kong art. At a time when Western modernism was beginning to influence the local scene, Yee carved a unique path, merging traditional East Asian iconography and folklore with contemporary forms like abstract expressionism. Rather than copying Western styles, he reinterpreted them through the lens of his own cultural heritage. As a significant figure in this creative shift, Yee also co-founded the influential Circle Art Group and was an inspiration to many young artists seeking a break from innovation.
One of the most compelling pieces in the exhibition is Cheung’s Spirit (1977)( as shown in the picture above), a striking example of his innovative ‘cast paper’ technique – a method that combines printmaking and sculpture. The process begins by carving reliefs into wooden blocks to form lead moulds, which are then filled with paper pulp and reinforced with glass fibre to give strength and texture. Once dry, the piece is painted in a monotone colour; in the case of Spirit, a bold, saturated, red. This colour was carefully chosen – red holds deep significance in East Asian culture, symbolising good fortune, joy, and celebration, often used in festivals such as Lunar New Year and weddings.
At first glance, Spirit may appear abstract and ambiguous. But upon closer inspection, the piece reveals its depth – its concave shapes, curved lines and textured surface evoke the shell of a tortoise, a recurring motif in Cheung’s work. This is not just decorative – during the Shang Dynasty (c.1600 BC-1046 BC), tortoise shells were used with animal bones for divination practices and inscriptions. The spindle-shaped holes of this piece are a reflection of the Shang Dynasty practice of engraving and heating oracle bones to create fissels, which were seen as messages from the divine. In this way, Spirit stands as a perfect encapsulation of Cheung Yee’s artistic mission: to blend contemporary techniques with traditional symbolism in a way that is both timeless and new.
Also featured in the exhibition is Chinese artist Liu Kuo-sung, another pioneering figure in East Asian art. One example is his vibrant work The Sun. In this piece, the sun sits at the top centre of the composition, surrounded by a deep crimson red sky that gradually softens into orange as it moves downward. In the foreground, green hues suggest landmasses and oceans, anchoring the piece with a sense of earthly presence. This part of the painting was created using Liu’s innovative technique of stripping away paper fibres and ink blotching, giving it a textured, organic feel.
Rather than depicting a landscape from the traditional bird’s-eye perspective common in Chinese painting, The Sun invites the viewer to gaze upwards from Earth into the vast cosmos. This shift in viewpoint-looking from the ground toward the infinite sky-marks a powerful departure from traditional perspective. By showing both the Earth and the surrounding universe, the piece resonates with the Chinese philosophy of the unity of ‘sky-heaven and humanity’, which suggests a deep connection between humanity and the cosmos.
Overall, the exhibition showcases the revolutionary work of Cheung Yee and his contemporaries, all of whom played key roles in redefining East Asian art through their avant-garde approaches. Cheung Yee, in particular, masterfully blends Western modernist techniques with traditional East Asian spirituality and folklore. His work challenges the conventions of ink-on-paper painting while remaining deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of Hong Kong.
