Ma Hui is a Chinese-born artist living in Amsterdam, known for his knowledge and expression using ink on paper. As a first-generation immigrant, Mahoi feels a strong connection to her homeland. She expresses her emotions through her ink strokes, drawing inspiration from her memories of her childhood and her personal connection with her hometown.
Ma Hui was born in Chengde, Hebei Province in 1958 into a family of high-ranking party officials. Her wide range of works embodies her two very different cultural identities in different ways. Her love for ink (ink and water on paper) stems from her childhood, spent on the banks of the Yellow River in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Ma Hui studied at the School of Fine Arts at Xi’an University, after which she painted the cultural life of ethnic minorities in Tibet. In 1987 she moved to Europe and continued her art studies in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
During her stay in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the symbiosis of yellow earth and flowing water evoked lasting emotions in her that literally shaped her artistic career, which spanned four decades on two continents. Both cultures resonate in ink, an ancient Chinese figurative art form that Ma Hui brilliantly transforms, resulting in giant jets of ink and water on rice paper. Ma Hui’s work is considered a pioneer of abstract ink and is part of a new advancement in modern Chinese culture. In 2006, she received the prestigious Emstel Prize from the Cobra Museum in the Netherlands for a wall-sized ink installation on canvas titled “Yellow River.” function.
www.ftn-books.com has the Dancing in 3D book by Ma Hui now available.
