To celebrate the grand opening of Alisan Atelier, Alisan Fine Arts proudly presents Remaining the Mountain, Becoming the Ocean as the inaugural exhibition of Alisan Atelier, featuring the first joint showcase of artist duo Mok Yat-san and Man Fung-yi. Although the gallery has worked with the artists respectively since 2007, this exhibition is the first joint presentation, both in curatorial coherence and exhibition design. It exemplifies Alisan Atelier's mission of fostering collaborative artistic dialogue, highlighting the two Hong Kong natives’ interdisciplinary exploration of Chinese aesthetics. Featuring 22 recent works by Mok and Man across a wide range of materials and media, this exhibition is a meditation on the concept of duality and companionship, offering insights into the duo’s creative process and the philosophical underpinnings of their art. Both graduates of the Fine Arts Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mok and Man have developed distinct yet complementary artistic styles that blend traditional Chinese aesthetics with contemporary forms of expression.

Professor Tang Hoi-chiu, Adjunct Professor at the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, and former Chief Curator of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, remarks: “In the realm of art, Mok Yat-san and Man Fung-yi are rare ‘soulmates.’ Mok Yat-san focuses on ink, using sculptural forms to create unique horizon through three dimensional works, while Man Fung-yi embraces the acute perception and gentle tranquility of the feminine heart, navigating with multimedia techniques of incense burnt marks, ink aesthetics, digital presentation and embroidery imagery to create her artistic vision. Both artists walk hand-in-hand on the artistic path, striving for fresh representations of ink art with their recent works in the present exhibition.”

Both artists have completed numerous significant commissions across Hong Kong, including works for Hong Kong International Airport, Tamar Park in Admiralty, the Hong Kong Legislative Council, International Commerce Centre, and various MTR stations. Their works are also held in prestigious collections such as those of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; M+, Hong Kong; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Hong Kong Heritage Museum; and Redtory Museum of Contemporary Art, Guangzhou.

Highlights include Mok Yat-san’s “Pleasure in the Hills” series (2022), which explores mythical mountains of ancient Chinese legends, and his “Returning Back to Zero” (2024), a bamboo carving of a thousand words as clarification of the mind during a challenging time. Man Fung-yi’s works, such as “Microscopic Landscape,” featured in ‘Personal Structures – Beyond Boundaries’ at the 60th Venice Biennale this year, showcase her multidisciplinary approach, moving freely between incense-burn marks, metal-lattice work, and digital video. The “Mokman’s Cosmology” series, four new collaborative works, synthesizes their past experiences and insights about landscapes, nature, and the universe into the couple’s first formal joint “ink paintings.”

Exhibition curated by Prof Tang Hiu-chiu