Event: Elegant Brush: Calligraphy of T.C. Lai

Date: October 15- November 1, 2003

Grotto Fine Art is proud to present "The Elegant Brush: Calligraphy of T.C. Lai", an exhibition of one of the most respected calligraphy masters and experts in Hong Kong. Professor T.C. Lai, a renowned scholar, writer, calligrapher and painter will exhibit his calligraphy of the last ten years. This is Professor Lai's first ever calligraphy exhibition and represents his unparallel mastery of this most traditional of all literati pursuits. The exhibition runs from October 15 to November 1, 2003.

Calligraphy is one of the oldest and most respected forms of artistic expression in China. Strictly governed and highly orthodox, its social status is even more prominent than painting. Calligraphy is both expressive and reflective. The usage of the Chinese brush was deemed to express the most private emotion of the user, and his ability to transform the written words into pure calligraphy forms largely depends on his virtues and cultivation.

With over 70 years of experience in the art of calligraphy, Professor T.C. Lai is well positioned to produce the highest quality and standard of this written art form. Whether they are Tang dynasty poems or Song dynasty verses, Lai is familiar of both their origins and meanings that enable him in translating them into the unique language of the brush. Lyrical and expressive, Lai's calligraphy is the embodiment of past and present history, as witnessed by one of the most important 20th century Chinese scholars.

Professor T.C. Lai, JP, was born in 1921. He is the author of over forty books on Chinese art and culture. He was the chairman of the Hong Kong Translation Society, president of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong Island West, a member of the Government's Public Service Commission and the Chinese Language Committee. As Hong Kong's first professional trained in the field of continuing education at Manchester University, Prof. Lai took charge of the Department of Extramural Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1965 to 1984. He is now retired and writes, paints and practices calligraphy.