Co-founded in the 1980s by Alice King, Alisan Fine Arts is one of the first professionally run galleries in Hong Kong and has been a pioneer in the field of Chinese contemporary art and New Ink Art. In particular, focusing on promoting mainland Chinese artists as well as established Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora artists. Currently, the gallery manages three premises, one in Hong Kong’s central business district, one in Aberdeen, Hong Kong’s southside and one in the upper east side of New York city, USA.
Over the years, under the leadership of Alice King, the gallery has organized hundreds of exhibitions in Hong Kong and abroad. In 1996 Daphne King Yao joined the gallery and in 2005 was appointed Director, formally taking over operations in 2011. Since then she has continued to showcase works by artists that Alisan has represented over the years as well as a new generation of Chinese artists with a strong focus on women artists.
In 1987 the gallery organized one of the first exhibitions in Hong Kong to showcase contemporary mainland Chinese artists. The landmark exhibition “A State of Transition: Contemporary Paintings from Shanghai” included fourteen artists such as Chen Jialing and Li Shan. Subsequently, in 1989 the gallery put together “Modern Chinese Paintings: A Selection from Beijing, Hangzhou, Sichuan” introducing the works of Peng Xiancheng, Zeng Mi, Nie Ou, Jia Youfu and Jiang Baolin to the Hong Kong public. Both were held at the Hong Kong Arts Centre.
The gallery was also the first to organize a commercial exhibition of Zao Wou-ki's works in Hong Kong in 1993 and since then has held five more solo exhibitions for the acclaimed artist. Alisan has also organized solo exhibitions for well-known artists Chu Teh-Chun, Lui Shou-Kwan, Walasse Ting, and Chao Chung-Hsiang and continues to work closely with the estates of these artists.
