With the end of August, the Chinese Mid-Autumn season begins and to start the celebrations, the Chan Lim Family of Artists, together with Dynamic Youth Incorporated, the Davao Filipino Chinese Cultural Foundation Incorporated, and SM City Davao recently launched the Chan Lim Mid Autumn Art Festival at the Annex Atrium of SM City Davao.
Composed of over 260 hand painted lanterns, the massive art installation celebrates the beauty of Chinese-style painting. Viewers can walk, interact and view the different works of art which depict landscapes, flowers, fish and birds.
Over the past five decades, the Chan Lim Family of Artists have used a wide variety of media, styles and techniques to create a fusion of Western and Eastern art. However, it is their Asian-themed art and Chinese brush painting that the Chan Lim artists are best known for. Currently, the three generations of the family are actively involved in the arts, with the younger generation dabbling in different types of more modern techniques, such as digital media and audio-visual creations.
Chan Lim, the family patriarch, started his career in the arts using oil and watercolor as his main media. Most of his artwork are created on canvas and paper. The second generation were trained mostly in the Asian arts.
“This is our 11th exhibit in Mindanao and we are always happy to be back to share Chinese style art,” shared Alex Chan Lim. “We are proud to say that every year we come up with new ideas to present our works and we are glad that everyone enjoys the exhibit.”
The Chan Lims’ art has certain characteristics that distinguish their work from others. Their artworks are distinctively Asian, with allusions of Western technique. Over the years, the Chan Lims have continuously blazed the trail on the type of media used for the Chinese brush. Their art subjects have included flora, fauna, insects, landscape, and portraits painted on media such as as lanterns, Chinese fans, porcelain plates, ceramic taels and rice paper.
After the exhibit opening last August 25, a Chinese painting workshop was also held followed by a Chinese painting competition attended by students from Davao’s various Chinese schools.
The Chan Lims hold regular Chinese painting classes in the family studio located in Pasig City, Metro Manila. Their artworks may be viewed at www.chanlim.com. They can be reached at chanlim@yahoo.com.
The Chan Lim Mid Autumn Art Festival is ongoing and will last until the 14th of September, at SM City Davao.
