ART | Mio Pang Fei brings ‘Beyond the Surface’ to town

Mio Pang Fei

The “Beyond the Surface, Mio Pang Fei Featured Art Exhibition” is taking place at the Albergue SCM until March 1. It showcases a number of featured artworks by the renowned local artist Mio Pang Fei, including “The Water Margin Series” and “Post Calligraphy.”
Mr Mio said that the theme “Beyond the Surface [超以象外in Chinese]” aims to express that most of the art pieces in the exhibition are not created in a realist style. Instead, they are in the expressionist style.
Recalling his discovery of contemporary painting styles, such as abstract expressionism and impressionism, the veteran artist said that when he was studying art at a mainland university, he was not taught about the history of contemporary painting, due to political reasons. However, out of curiosity, he began to study various contemporary painting styles through reading books in the library, and found “a huge universe” portrayed in those books. However, he was still unable to freely create contemporary art pieces. Therefore, he switched to creating Chinese paintings.
Mio said that, at the beginning, when he was looking into the modern painting styles, he found that some of them were too rough for Chinese culture. Hence, he has integrated some elements of Chinese culture into Western painting styles.
“For example, in my abstract expressionist art collection, the ‘Post Calligraphy’ series, I drew some essence from Chinese calligraphy and inserted this into abstract expressionist paintings,” he said.
In terms of his painting style, Mio said that he would describe his pieces as neo-orientalist, which is the integration of Chinese tradition with contemporary painting techniques. “When I came to Macau and organized some exhibitions, people told me that they did not know how to categorize my art pieces… They see my artworks and do not know what styles they represent. People asked me if I could give a name to describe the style of my art. I told them that if there has to be a name [for his style], it can be called neo-orientalism,” he said.
Mio explained that there had been Western people who tried to learn the artistic styles of the East, mostly by learning from Japanese art. Even though some Western people also tried to learn calligraphy, Mio said that they only “scratched the surface” and that some of their pieces, though containing Eastern artistic features, were still profoundly Western. “My neo-orientalism is different from their work. It requires a deep understanding of the Chinese and Western cultures… We have to review the Chinese culture from the Western perspective and then transform it. The outcome [of the transformation] would [contain elements from] both Chinese and Western culture and, at the same time, [continue to be] captivating,” said Mio.
Mio moved to Macau from the mainland in 1982, and hosted his first exhibition in the city in 1985. However, not many residents understood his work. Mio’s wife, also a renowned artist named Um Chi Iam, recalled that Mio’s paintings were not appreciated. Mio also revealed that very few local Chinese came to the opening ceremony of his 1985 exhibition. The majority of the audience was Portuguese. “When I was sitting in the venue of my [1985] exhibition, I heard [local Chinese] people say things like ‘What the hell are these [paintings]?’ or ‘These are rubbish,’” he recalled.
In fact, in an interview with Macau Daily for that exhibition, a reporter told the artist that local Chinese people could not really understand his creations. Mio was then subsequently invited by two local Chinese newspapers to write columns to introduce his different painting styles.
Now approaching the age of 80, Mio said that his physical condition does not allow him to paint as often as he used to. Therefore, he is currently focusing on calligraphy. “Although calligraphy is less physically demanding than painting, it is still a bit tiring for me. I am almost 80 years old now, so there will not be many great changes in my creations,” he said, adding that he does have some ideas on creating new art pieces, but he lacks the physical strength to realize them.

mio to represent macau in venice

Several of Mio Pang Fei’s art pieces will showcased at the Macau Exhibition for the 56th Venice Biennale, held between May 9 and November 22. Preparation for the event has entered its final stage, and all works are expected to be shipped to Venice by the end of February. Mio said that three series of his artworks will be showcased in the exhibition, including those pieces from the “Water Margin” and “Post Calligraphy” series. There will also be re-creations of paintings that Mio was forced to destroy during the Cultural Revolution.

CRIME | PJ busts illegal betting website, detains Korean nationals

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has detained three South Koreans after cracking down on an illegal sports betting website based in Macau.
The authorities claimed that they received a tip-
off, which suggested that illegal activities might be taking place in a residential apartment in the Villa de Mar building lots, located in the Areia Preta neighborhood. After arriving at the apartment, PJ investigators found an unusual amount of computers in it. The PJ claimed that further investigation revealed that three South Koreans, who are holders of tourist visas, have been operating an illegal sports betting website, which has been running since November last year.
The authority found that around 100 accounts had been opened in the website, with these being mainly registered by South Koreans. The website is alleged to receive bets on global football matches and NBA (National Basketball Association) matches. The accumulated bets have reached HKD7 million since the website started operating, with about HKD100,000 worth of bets placed each day.
The PJ speculates that the suspects chose Macau to operate the site because gambling is illegal in most parts of South Korea. The authorities explained that the clients of the website would deposit their bets into bank accounts in Korea, before making their bets online.
The PJ suspect that there are yet more individuals involved in the illegal site who remain at large. It will notify the Korean law enforcement agency through the International Criminal Police Organization.
The three men will be handed over to the Public Prosecution Office, to be charged with operating a crime syndicate and for the illegal exploitation of gaming.