The Works：Chinese female artists Pan Yuliang & Cao Fei, in our studio: tenor Jasper Sung

This week, we look at two female Chinese artists whose work has its roots in very different times and backgrounds. Born in 1895, Pan Yuliang became known as the first woman in China to paint in the Western style. Her works and their style were sometimes harshly criticised by government figures and conservative critics, not least because she often painted nudes. The criticism was so severe that eventually she returned to live in the city in which she’d developed that style: Paris. On show at the Asia Society until early next year, “Song of Spring: Pan Yu-lin in Paris” is the first major exhibition of her works in Hong Kong.
Born over 80 years later than Pan Yuliang, in Guangzhou in the 1970s, Cao Fei grew up in a province that was benefitting from the so-called “Open Door” policy that was transforming the country’s economy. Many of her works are multimedia projects that explore the lives of young mainland Chinese and how they cope with the realities of a rapidly changing society. For Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun cultural centre, she has created a site-specific work that incorporates a film reflecting on the nature and history of the complex. That will be on show until 9th December.
Jasper Sung graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a Master of Music degree in singing before going on to study in Salzburg. Among his musical achievements since graduating are opera roles, performances of requiems and oratorios, and solo works for tenor. Later this month, he’ll be performing Schubert’s song cycle “Die schöne Müllerin" as part of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s “Our Music Talents” series. He’s here with pianist Karen Sung to tell us more.