Oil on canvas

64 × 94.5 cm. 25 1/4 × 37 1/4 in.

Signed in English on bottom right

LITERATURE
1992, Views from Asian California, 1920-1965: An Illustrated History, Michael Brown, San Francisco, p. 25
Apr 1995, Hsiung Shih Art Monthly, Hsiung Shih Art Books Co., Ltd, Taipei, p. 91
2013, Creating a New World: Chinese Artists in America, Taiwan Commercial Press Ltd, Taipei, p. 110
EXHIBITED
24 Sep - 26 Oct 1995, With New Eyes: Toward an Asian American Art History in the West, San Francisco State University, San Francisco

PROVENANCE
1992, acquired directly by original collector from the artist in Hawaii
24 Nov 2013, Christie's Hong Kong Autumn Auctions, Lot 3256
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

A Cup of Long Black, Inspirations on the Notion of Aesthetics
Coffee Hour by Hon-Chew Hee

With the growing amount of literature about the art industry, people have the means to pay more attention to the development of overseas Chinese art of the 20th century. Such efforts are unprecedented and are aided by profound research, allowing a fair and objective evaluation of Chinese artists who did not reside in China. Among this group of overseas Chinese artists, Hon-Chew Hee is a shining star.

Hon-Chew Hee's artwork is displayed at the Honolulu Airport in Hawaii. The public exhibition of his large-scale mural work prove his reputation and prestige in the local art circle. Born in Maui in 1905, Hon-Chew Hee returned to his hometown of Zhongshan, Guangdong China with his mother and have resided there from his childhood years till adolescence. During that time, he studied traditional Chinese literature, musical instruments, and calligraphy in a local school. In 1929, he was admitted to the California School of Fine Arts where he trained alongside master Yun Gee. Between 1948 and 1951, he went to Paris for further studies. He was particularly influenced by Fernando Léger, the master of French Cubism and Mechanical Aesthetics.

“Mechanical Aesthetic art” attempts to excavate unique visual forms and life experiences of lifeless modern machinery. In Coffee Hour, Hon-Chew Hee adopted Mechanical Aesthetic elements to reinterpret Cubism art, dismantling the coffee machine into separate components and depicting them through changing shades of warm brown tones. In the superposition of colour blocks, light, and shadows, a small drawer of the grinder is opened on the right side of the composition. On the left side, coffee slowly drips into the cup, its tempo full of rationality, body, and sensuality. The process of making drip coffee was undoubtedly a significant memory of the artist's life when he studied in Paris.

Price estimate:
HKD: 70,000 - 120,000
USD: 8,900 - 15,300

Auction Result:
HKD: 84,000