The father and son art exhibit of Norman Chow and Chino Chow opened for public viewing today, Oct. 4 at the Baguio Museum. Friends from local business, artists and media were treated to a preview of the Chinese paintings during an opening program on Oct. 3.
After the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, around 30 guests had the privilege of viewing the pieces of Chinese paintings created by the Chows. Businessman Peter Ng of Hotel Supreme, who is a high school friend of Norman Chow, commended the artists for sharing their art to the rest of Baguio and is looking forward to more exhibits of this kind in the future.
Chinese Painting: One Of The Oldest Artistic Traditions In The World
To provide a better understanding of Chinese painting, Chino Chow gave his guests a quick history about this ancient tradition. Traditional Chinese painting dates back to the early dynasties and makes use of the same techniques in Chinese calligraphy. Its main tools are brushes, blank ink or coloured pigments. This type of painting unlike Western-style painting, does not make use of oil-based paints.
The technique being used by Chino and his father is called ‘ink and wash painting’ which makes use of ink and water. It is also considered to be more freehand in style. Their paintings also show a particular kind of Chinese painting which features landscapes, and is considered to be the “highest form of Chinese painting.”
Live Chinese Painting Demonstration
Guests were also treated to a live demonstration of the techniques they used in their paintings. Norman Chow started off and described it as a painting of Baguio’s skyline, which to him actually the mountains. Chino then takes over to add his bit to the collaborative painting. Finally, the father finishes it with additional details and both artists stamp their names onto the finished painting.
The collection of 15 Chinese paintings, 5 by Chino and 10 by Norman, depicts what the artists called the hidden landscapes of Baguio. Most of them were not easily recognizable, mainly because not too many people have seen them or they are part of a landscape that is fast disappearing because of urban development.
Come and visit BiYao at the Baguio Museum, open from Tuesdays to Sundays, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.The exhibit runs until Oct. 29.