26 April  - 9 May, 2002
Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong

By definition, the 'Renaissance man' is a person of many talents and pursuits especially in the Arts. As an internationally acclaimed architect, planner, environmentalist, designer, art critic, teacher and mentor of architecture and art and much more, Tao Ho may be perceived as one of the leading figures in the development of art and culture in Hong Kong. The numerous accomplishments in these fields including two Silver Medals and six Design Merit awards from the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum in Switzerland for his outstanding efforts in bridging Western and Chinese culture duly exemplify Ho's reputation as a modern Renaissance man. In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, he co-initiated and designed the Hong Kong Arts Center. In 1997, he designed the Hong Kong SAR flag and emblem. Moreover, his large-scale hanging sculpture, A Synergy of Dynamic Energy, is on permanent display at the Hong Kong International Airport. 

The twenty-five paintings of the Impromptu in Black series have never before been exhibited. One may associate this series of ink paintings with cosmology or the "Big Bang". Combining his startling technique and fecund imagination, each painting bursts with vitality and energy and captures the explosive nature of the "Big Bang" theory. The work has a strong emphasis on the interaction between ink and water on paper, generating a world of visual possibilities created by such basic painting materials. In the words of Tao Ho, this series of paintings may be regarded as the "Metamorphosis of Ink". The paintings, although relatively small in size, possess the strength and the impact of a monumental painting or a sculpture. Visually, although explosive, one senses that there is something greatly poetic and spiritual in these works. Together they generate what Tao Ho calls the "cosmic resonance" where cosmic forces and the energy of his creativity converge.