It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Mr. Ip Hoi. Mr. Ip passed away peacefully on Marth 9th 2023 at the age of 90, after an unfortunate fall and injury to his head on the first day of the lunar new year.
Mr. Ip was originally from Zhaoping, Guangxi, he and his four siblings moved to Hong Kong due to the war. Despite his difficult upbringing, he persevered and taught himself English, eventually joining the police force and serving for 40 years.
He also pursued his passion for the arts, studying photography, Western painting under Mr. Yuen Chi Leung, and Chinese landscape painting under Mr. Lui Shou Kwan. He learned calligraphy from Mr. Jat See Yeu and they became both teachers and friends, exploring the subtleties of calligraphy. He made a firm decision to ultimately devoting himself to calligraphy. He regularly gathered with Mr. Jat and his students at his home in Ho Man Tin to exchange calligraphy skills, known as the "Man Tin Calligraphy Group". As the number of participants grew, they officially established the Jiazi Calligraphy Society in 1985.
After retiring in 1989, Mr. Ip focused even more on calligraphy and sought to innovate, creating large-scale woodblock calligraphy art pieces in his studio in Shunde. He held his first solo exhibition at the age of 83 and received much acclaim for his work.
Mr. Ip did not conform to societal norms. We have already held a simple farewell ceremony according to his wishes, but we would like to invite friends and colleagues to visit our exhibition room to view his works and pay their respects. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by our failure to notify all acquaintances of Mr. Ip's passing. We hope that his legacy will inspire future generations to pursue their passions and live life on their own terms.
Our exhibition studio is open for visitation from April 2023, exhibiting hundreds of his posthumous works. It is hoped that the "Seeing Ip Hoi" exhibition will serve as a substitute for the memorial service, where seeing his works is equivalent to seeing his ideas.
Note: "Seeing Ip Hoi" Exhibition has ended successfully.
Photo taken at Cosmos Book Lauch Event, 2018
Photo taken in 2021 during a visit to the M+ Museum in West Kowloon
Photo shot in 2022, at the exhibition room in Tai Kok Tsui
A glance of the exhibition room in Tai Kok Tsui