Zhao Hai Tien eye-opening and colorful art look beyond
Retrospective offers an opportunity to understand the process of multidisciplinary artist Zhao Hai
The Other Side of the River Series: Buddha 2, 1984, Acrylic on Canvas, Zhao Hai Tien
Art by Zhao Hai Tien shapes daily experience
A work by Zhao Hai Tien shapes how thousands of people experience Hong Kong each day.
Walk into entrance B of Fortress Hill MTR station, and a wall of colour confronts you. A twenty-metre mosaic spreads across the platform.
Recreation of Being, 2002-03, Fortress Hill MTR, Entrance B, Zhao Hai Tien
It was created from the painting Being (1997). The tiles catch light at different angles. They shift and shimmer as you move past them.
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The mosaic artwork introduces commuters to a fundamental aspect of Zhao Hai Tien’s practice: colour functions as structure, not decoration. Colour carries meaning without words.
The journey to this public installation began when Hai Tien left Hong Kong for New York in 1964. She arrived at Cooper Union School of Advanced Art. She was the only foreign student studying fine arts.
Being, 1997, Oil and acrylic on canvas, Zhao Hai TIen
In her fourth year, she worked under Nicholas Krushenick. He was an artist who pushed the boundaries of hard-edge abstraction. Krushenick showed how colours interact at edges. He showed how form creates meaning.
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This shaped how Hai Tien approached her own practice. She took these lessons and developed them in her own way.
For nearly six decades, Hai Tien has explored how colours and marks communicate without showing recognisable objects.
Recreation of Being, 2002-03, Fortress Hill MTR, Entrance B, Zhao Hai Tien
Her exhibition Cultivation: Fifty Years of Painting at the University of Hong Kong traces this evolution. It reveals how her methods shifted.
Colour and form are tools of expression
It shows how her thinking developed. It demonstrates how she learned to use colour and form as tools of expression.
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Hai Tien’s career can be divided into distinct phases. Each shows different technical approaches.
Early on, she worked with spray guns. Artists rarely used such tools. She taught herself airbrush painting.
Inner Light, 1972 Acrylic on canvas, Zhao Hai Tien, Image courtesy of UMAG
As can be seen in the painting Inner Light (1972), this required precision and planning. The painter had to know where each line would fall. Corrections became difficult once the paint dried.
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The Other Side of the River series (1984-1987) demonstrates her achievement. Inspired by statues such as those at the UNESCO World Heritage site Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing, these works feature Buddha-based forms in simple spaces.
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Faces emerge from geometric shapes in colours that shift from light to dark. The airbrush enabled soft transitions between tones. Serenity radiates from its refinement and composure.
Work with oil transformed her practice
When Hai Tien began working with oil, her practice transformed. The Multi-Dimension series (1988-1989) shows this shift.
Trust in her decades of art education allowed her to replace intention with subconscious impulse. Brushstrokes become visible. Dots of colour cluster together. Free marks animate the canvas. The viewer sees the artist’s hand.
Ocean of Worlds, 1997-2008 Oil and acrylic on canvas, Zhao Hai TIen
Primary colours dominate, with secondary colours used occasionally for contrast. Yet from a distance, these parts become a unified whole. The colours work together in concert.
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This matters because it teaches something about the act of looking. Hai Tien’s work resists instant comprehension.
Stand close, and you see individual marks and gestures. Step back and relationships between colours reveal themselves. The painting changes depending on your distance from it and how long you look.
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During a tour of the exhibition, Hai Tien explained something central to her method. When she began painting abstracts, she did not name them before completion.
Life Forming, 2012, Oil on canvas, triptych, Zhao Hai Tien
She finished a painting, then looked at what emerged. Only then did she recognise what it was. The forms suggested their meaning.
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This reverses how many artists work. Rather than starting with a concept and illustrating it, Hai Tien lets the act of painting generate meaning.
The dual-canvas work Life and Death (1992) exemplifies this approach. Two canvases function as a pair.
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One explores life. The other explores death. They are distinct. Yet together they form a complete thought. The artist did not impose this meaning. The paintings revealed what they contained.
Life and Death, 1992, Oil on canvas, Zhao Hai Tien
Being (1997) came from her studio the same way. When Hai Tien finished the canvas, she recognised it as an investigation of existence.
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The painting visualises what she describes as billions of interrelated elements and atoms. These exist in the space around and within us.
Colours interact throughout. Marks suggest movement and connection. No forms represent concrete objects. Yet the work carries weight in its ideas. Energy flows through it.
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This approach aligns with abstract practice elsewhere. But Hai Tien’s commitment stands out. She does not treat the canvas as a display surface for predetermined ideas.
Art is a record of an engaged conversation with Zhao Hai Tien
Instead, the painting becomes a conversation between artist and work. She listens, responds, and the work emerges through engagement rather than planning.
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For viewers new to abstract art, this raises a question: what am I looking at? The answer lies not in identifying objects. Instead, look at relationships. Colour to colour. Mark to mark. Space to void.
Zen Space No. 5, Autumn, 1988, Acrylic on canvas, Zhao Hai Tien
In the Multi-Dimension works like Zen Space No. 5, Autumn, Hai Tien packed colours closely. They vibrate against each other.
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Dot-like structures cluster. The eye cannot rest anywhere. It must move. It must navigate the colour field. This generates what one might call energy. The painting seems alive because it refuses stillness.
The later works evolve this approach. Ocean of Worlds (1997-2008) brings scale and complexity. The large canvas shows multiple layers.
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Oil and acrylic combine. The colours generate their own light. Forms emerge that resemble nothing from nature. Yet they feel organic. They breathe. They suggest life.
Art Journey, 2009, Oil on canvas, Zhao Hai TIen
Art Journey (2009) demonstrates how Hai Tien’s thinking evolved. The work celebrates the act of making itself.
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The artist describes art as a journey. It is the most exciting adventure on earth. The painting vibrates with this sense of movement and discovery. Colours tumble across the canvas. Forms suggest both chaos and harmony existing simultaneously.
Recreation of Being, 2002-03, Fortress Hill MTR, Entrance B, Zhao Hai Tien
The Recreation of Being at Fortress Hill reveals another dimension of Hai Tien’s thinking. The work did not simply transfer from canvas to mosaic.
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The artist created a new work from the original. This transformation matters. Mosaic imposes constraints. Tiles are discrete units.
Each holds one colour or pattern. The artist cannot render smooth gradations. She must work with juxtaposition and contrast.
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Commuters pass this work each day. Most do not stop. They move through the space. They absorb colour without conscious thought.
Visualization of Water, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, Zhao Hai Tien
Yet the work operates on them. It colours their experience of place. It reminds them that colour exists everywhere.
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It shapes how we feel about the spaces we inhabit. The public dimension of this work extends her reach beyond galleries.
Holiday Spirit, 1992, Mixed media collage on canvas, Zhao Hai Tien
This public presence distinguishes Hai Tien’s practice from that of many abstract painters. Her work does not hide in galleries and private collections alone.
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It inhabits transit stations. It meets people who may not visit museums. It insists on relevance beyond the art world. Through such placement, she democratises engagement with abstract painting.
For viewers approaching her work for the first time, several strategies help. First, spend time with the work. Let colours settle in your mind.
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Notice how your eye moves. Observe what happens as you scan the surface. Do not rush. Hai Tien’s paintings reward sustained attention.
Man and Woman, 2010, Acrylic on canvas, Zhao Hai Tien
Second, consider the materials used. Recognising whether a work uses airbrush, oil, acrylic, or mixed media enriches understanding.
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Each technique carries implications. Airbrush suggests order and control. Oil suggests process and reworking. Acrylic suggests immediacy and action. Mixed approaches suggest layering and complexity.
Third, move closer and farther away from the work. Observe how it changes with distance. Notice what emerges when you view it from across the room. Notice what you see from close range. Abstract works operate at different scales.
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Fourth, accept that meaning emerges through looking rather than prior knowledge. You need not understand Buddhist philosophy to respond to the paintings.
Laughing Robot, 1993, Oil on canvas, Zhao Hai TIen
The work speaks through colour, form, and composition. These are the artist’s language.
Hai Tien has spent fifty years refining this language. She has moved from controlled techniques to more spontaneous approaches.
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She has expanded from small paintings to large public works. Throughout her career, she has maintained faith in painting itself.
Colour and form can communicate beyond language. They reach viewers directly. They generate insight and understanding.
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The exhibition at the University of Hong Kong shows this arc. Early works sit alongside recent ones. Drawings exist near large canvases.
www.no.3.com (3), 2012, Oil and acrylic on canvas, Zhao Hai TIen
Different series occupy the space together. This arrangement reveals both continuity and change. It shows how an artist develops while maintaining core commitments. It demonstrates that abstraction can contain entire worlds.
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To engage with Zhao Hai Tien‘s work, it is best to set aside rational expectations of finding concepts or symbols. Instead, try to see colour, experience composition, and discover personal meaning through repeated looking and seeing. The appreciation experience is worth the effort.
Text & photos Martin Wray
