93-year-old Hung Hsien (洪嫻, Margaret Chang) was born in Yangzhou, China in 1933, she moved to Taiwan in 1948, where she studied under revered scholar-painter Prince Pu Ru. She continued her studies at National Taiwan Normal University before relocating to the United States in 1958, where she engaged deeply with Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism, and other modernist movements while studying at Northwestern University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Living in the U.S., in the mid-1960s, Hung Hsien invented a modern ink painting language entirely her own. She became one of a few women to exhibit with Taiwan’s avant-garde Fifth Moon Group, a collective dedicated to modernizing ink painting by synthesizing Eastern and Western approaches. Taking inspiration from multiple artists, Hung developed a distinct artistic language that fused lyrical brushstrokes, abstract forms, and bold color blocks. Hung’s work is distinguished by her ability to merge the technical mastery of traditional Chinese ink painting with the expressive energy of Western abstraction.

Despite her profound contributions to global modernism, Hung remains largely under recognized in mainstream art historical narratives. While Hung’s work has been collected by institutions including the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art and Hong Kong Museum of Art, her legacy is only now beginning to receive the curatorial attention it deserves. Through Between Worlds, ASHK seeks to highlight Hung Hsien’s pivotal yet often overlooked role in modern ink painting.

Hung Hsien: Between Worlds exhibited at Asia Society Texas Center from April to September 2025. It will be the first exhibition shared between the Asia Society network. 

The exhibition is co-organized by Asia Society Hong Kong Center and Asia Society Texas Center, and guest curated by Tiffany Wai-ying Beres, with support provided by Asia Society Hong Kong Center Gallery & Exhibitions Team, Hain Yoon and Natalie Kung; Dr. Owen Duffy, Asia Society Texas, Nancy C. Allen Curator and Director of Exhibitions; Dr. Einor Cervone, Associate Curator of Arts of Asia at the Denver Art Museum; and Dr. B Li, independent researcher.

For more information please visit the Asia Society Hong Kong website.

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