Excellence in Arts and Culture/Entertainment Reporting

Mabel Lui, “After one of China’s most famous 20th-century artists left his homeland, his life was a mystery. Until now,” South China Morning Post

ABOUT THE WORK: Though the 20th century Chinese artist Chang Dai-chien, also known as the "Picasso of the East", has been an enduring name in the art world for decades, much of his peripatetic later life has remained unexplored until now. This Post Magazine cover story is one of the first and few existing articles to provide an in-depth exploration of why the complete accomplishments of this prominent artist were have not been documented in the East or the West – in China, his career was tainted by the fact that he left the motherland in 1949, just after the Chinese Communist Party wrested control from the Kuomintang, and in the West, many were apprehensive about his reputation as a forger even though he was widely respected. Using the documentary “Of Color & Ink: Chang Dai-chien After 1949” as a starting point, it also investigates what motivated Chang’s travels and his attachment to his home country, culminating in a story that weaves together art, history, censorship and politics.

Mabel Lui is a culture reporter at the South China Morning Post, where she covers everything from food and travel to entertainment and the arts in Hong Kong and beyond. A bright-eyed kid at heart, she loves the feeling of discovering something new and is always on the lookout for fascinating stories relating to culture and society. She graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, California with a dual major in Media Studies and Art.

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