Los Altos, CA – The Los Altos History Museum has extended their exhibition Hau Beiren@100: Works from the Old Apricot Villa to December 31, 2016 in response to the overwhelming interest in the community and art world. It is a rare opportunity to see a survey of the recent work of Hau Beiren , one of California’s greatest contemporary Chinese painters–a firmly held position for the past sixty years, since his 1956 arrival in the United States from Hong Kong. Known as Paul Hau (or Paul ‘Pei Jen’ Hau) in English, and Hou Beiren 侯北人 in Chinese, he is a bridge between Chinese painting and American art. Born in 1917 and now nearing his 100th birthday (Chinese are said to be one when they are born), this exhibition marks this auspicious anniversary.
Hau Beiren’s life includes friendships and study with some of the top painters in 20th century China. These renowned artists include Chang Dai-chien (Zhang Daqian), who is often compared to Picasso, as well as Huang Binhong and Fu Baoshi, who are perhaps comparable to the giants of European art like Matisse and Modigliani. That these names are all largely unknown in the West suggests the ‘art history gap’ that separates Asian art from the art of Europe and America.
The exhibition provides a window into the exciting developments in global Chinese art of the 20th century, where exciting brushwork re-energized traditional forms and compositions. Hau’s paintings have become increasingly abstract and even ‘cosmic’ but still remain rooted in the great landscape tradition of Chinese painting.
Like many Chinese artists in America, Hau Beiren is today better known and celebrated in China than in the United States. He remains little known in his home state of California, even though he has lived in Los Altos for the past sixty years. In China, two museums bear his name and feature major collections of his work, and his work has been featured in major solo exhibitions in Beijing and Hangzhou.
But Hau’s work has also been featured in important exhibitions in California, including two solo exhibitions at the de Saisset Museum at the University of Santa Clara (1959, 1962), at San Francisco’s de Young Museum (1963), the New Orleans Art Museum (1964), a retrospective at the San Jose Museum of Art (1980), the San Francisco Chinese Culture Center (1988) and multiple gallery exhibitions, including the Chinese Art Gallery in Los Altos, founded in 1973 by Hau Beiren and his wife Zhang YunQin 張韻琴 (Mary).
The Museum and J. Gilbert Smith House are open Thursday through Sunday, from noon-4pm. The gardens, outdoor agricultural exhibits and picnic area are accessible beyond Museum hours. For more information, go to www.losaltoshistory.org, email hello@losaltoshistory.org, or phone 650.948.9427 x14.
The Los Altos History Museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing local history to enrich our community and to shape a more informed future. Both the Museum and J. Gilbert Smith House are located on one of the last active apricot orchards in the Santa Clara Valley. The 1905 shingled farmhouse, built with many Craftsman-style features, was our first museum, opened in 1977. In the spring of 2001, the Los Altos History Museum opened in a modern, impressive three-level, 8,200-square-foot building, built entirely with private donations. Ownership was transferred to the City of Los Altos in 2002.
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Media Contact: Marketing@losaltoshistory.org
Los Altos History Museum: Crystal Taylor, 650-948-9427 x14, ctaylor@losaltoshistory.org
