The Works：Ink artist Choi Hoi-yin, HKBUAVA Grad Show & pianist Maxime Zecchini

Ink has a long history in Chinese traditional painting. It is used in calligraphy, and landscape and literati painting. Local ink artist Choi Hoi-ying merges calligraphy and Chinese traditions with paper wrapping, carving, collage and relief to create unique ink art installations. For an exhibition last month at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Communication and Visual Arts Building, Choi worked with a group of students to explore new ways of merging Chinese and Western art forms.
The Hong Kong Baptist University’s Academy of Visual Arts is one of five publicly funded universities that offers art or creativity-related programmes. As in other such institutions, at the end of every academic year its students get the chance to show the best of their work in their graduation show. This year, the academy is presenting the works of a hundred artists, both current and former graduates, as well as a series of other events on its Kai Tak campus.
There’s a legend that the American jazz pianist Art Tatum, who learned to play the piano by ear, developed the ability to play as if he were two people because he had accidentally been learning from piano roll pieces by two pianists. It’s a story that Tatum himself later denied, but it does bear witness to his amazing dexterity.
Similar dexterity is shown by our studio guest today, but in a different way. French pianist Maxime Zecchini is best known for his “left hand reportoire”, using five fingers to make sounds that one would usually expect to hear from ten. The first French pianist to receive a degree from the prestigious “Incontri col Maestro” or International Piano Academy in Imola, he has also orchestrated music for television, and directed musicals. He’s here in Hong Kong for a one-night concert.