In the afternoon of 20 September 2024, the University of Macau Library held a donation ceremony of Deng Fen’s works on the closing day of the “Cultural Heritage: Deng Fen Documents Exhibition”. Mr Kwai Lau of the Deng Fen Art Foundation, also a descendant of Deng Fen, donated seven original works of Deng Fen’s paintings and calligraphy, as well as his electronic archive of research on Deng Fen’s works to the University of Macau.
Donor Mr Kwai Lau said that the University of Macau Museum of Art has the functions of collecting and exhibiting art works, as well as teaching and conducting exchanges. It not only served the talent cultivation and discipline development of the university, but also provided a platform for the display and exchange of artistic creations for teachers, students and Macao citizens, which was respectable. He hoped that this donation would be able to contribute to the talent cultivation of the University of Macau. Wu Jianzhong, Librarian of the University of Macau, said that this donation not only enriched the collection of the UM Museum of Art, but also allows teachers, students and citizens to further understand and appreciate Lingnan traditional art and culture. He also thanked the Deng Fen Art Foundation and Mr Kwai Lau for their generous donation, and looked forward to have more cooperation and exchanges in the future to promote the inheritance and development of Chinese traditional culture and art.
Deng Fen (1894-1964) was born in Nanhai, Guangdong. Known as one of the important figures in the painting circles of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in the 20th century, Deng Fen excelled not only in painting and calligraphy, but also in poetry, seal carving, scriptwriting and playwriting, making him a true polymath.
As early as 1923, he co-founded the Guihai Painting Cooperative (癸亥合作社) with fourteen traditional Chinese painters. Later, the cooperative reorganized to be the Guangdong Painting Society (廣東國畫研究會) to inherit and develop the theories and techniques of traditional Chinese painting. During the Anti-Japanese war, he resided in Macao and frequently traveled between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. After the victory of the War, he returned to Macao and lived twice in Macao at Chi-hsien Club of Travessa do Auto Novo (清平直街寄閒俱樂部), Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida (荷蘭園大馬路) and Travessa dos Anjos (天神巷). He was one of the painting teachers at Chü ming hsüan (居明軒), an important place to teach paintings in Macao at that time, and had a very close relationship with the local art and cultural circles. He inherited the traditions of Chinese painting while also creating a new style. Chinese literati painting master Huang Binhong (黄賓虹) praised him as the best painter in Nanhai. Chang dai-chien (張大千), a world-renowned painting master, regarded him as the only modern painter in Lingnan.
This year coincides with the 130th anniversary of the birth of Deng Fen. From the 9 to 20 of this month, the University of East Asia Open College Students’ Association and the University of Macau Library co-organized the “Cultural Heritage: Deng Fen Documents Exhibition”, with support from the UM Alumni and Development Office and the Deng Fen Art Foundation.
Source: UM Library
