Hon Chi Fun was born in Hong Kong in 1922 and died in Hong Kong in 2019. A seminal figure in Hong Kong’s visual art history, he co-founded the Circle Art Group in 1963 – an influential modernist collective instrumental in shaping the city’s post-war art scene. Hon cultivated a distinctive avant-garde style, noted for his monumental airbrush compositions, Daoist-inspired screenprints, and multimedia works. His practice is marked by a deep engagement with the cultural and philosophical resonances of his materials. The integration of his own poetry, along with his passion for literature and calligraphy, drew the attention of writers and poets, who have explored the literary qualities of his oeuvre.
The eldest of eight siblings, Hon attended Wah Yan College, Kowloon, on a full scholarship as top of his form, where he studied traditional Chinese poetry and calligraphy. His hopes of university were cut short by the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. He moved to mainland China to work in import-export in Guangzhou and Shanghai, supporting his family. Returning to Hong Kong in 1956, he joined the Hong Kong Post as a postal inspector. Compelled to create, he painted fervently outside work hours. By the 1960s, he was exhibiting regularly and gained recognition among a cohort of local artists exploring experimental approaches that fused multiple media with intellectual, cultural, and popular currents.
In 1970, Hon became the first Hong Kong recipient of a Fellowship from the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Foundation, precursor to the Asian Cultural Council. In 2013, he was awarded the Medal of Honour by the Hong Kong SAR Government for his exceptional contribution to the arts. His work has been widely exhibited in Hong Kong and abroad, including Secret Code, a major retrospective at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2005. His works are held in the collections of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, and the University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong.