Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2006

Art Museum Celebrates 35th Anniversary In 1967, not long after the founding of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) was formed. The Institute, completed and fully operational in January 1971, was donated to the University by the Lee Hysan Foundation in memory of the late Mr. Lee Hysan. In September the same year, an exhibition of Chinese art treasures was held in theArt Gallery of the Institute tomark the official opening of the venue. At the opening reception, the plaque of the Institute was unveiled. The institute, a two-storey building with a floor space of 2,600 square metres, is modelled after a siheyuan , the Chinese quadrangle. The building’s courtyard is decorated with willows, ornamental rocks, and, in the centre, a pond where water lilies and gold fish thrive. The ICS was expanded in 1988 and a new wing annexed. Its courtyard was also renovated in 2004. But the basic layout remains unchanged. The Art Gallery is located at the back of the courtyard facing the main entrance of the Institute. The building of the ICS adopted a mod- ern architectural style, which is given stronger expression in the Art Gallery, renamed the Art Museum on 1 August 1995. With a total floor area of over 400 square metres, the exhibition hall comprises four levels. The predominant geometric form is the rectangle and the lines are clean and simple. The low concrete walls and ceiling beams are stripped of all superfluous decoration. This unvarnished style is timeless and carries the Zen overtones of Chinese aesthet- ics. While the ground level of the exhibition hall has the largest floor space, the other levels zig- zag upward around the periphery of the hall, creating diversity in layers and maximizing the effect of space and continuity in the hall. The floor of each level is paved with cream-coloured marble and the walls are plain and elegant. With the natural light coming through the glass door of the main entrance and the northern paned windows near the ceiling, the hall looks bright and spacious. During the expansion of the ICS, an east wing was annexed to the museum. The The unveiling of the memorial plaque of the Institute of Chinese Studies by the founding Vice-Chancellor of CUHK Dr. Choh-Ming Li ( right 2 ) in 1971.