Alok Hsu Kwang-han
Alok Hsu Kwang-han is an internationally acclaimed and highly original Zen calligraphic painter from China. His creations are a striking synthesis of the beauty of Chinese calligraphy, the spontaneity and simplicity of Zen, and the evolution of Western Psychotherapy. His paintings serve as portals. Entering the paintings, we “come home” to ourselves. In his workshops, Alok teaches Zen as art and art as Zen. He has also brought what he calls “the creativity of non-doing” into trainings for international organizations and for business leaders.
Education: Alok obtained academic degrees in mathematics, Christian theology, sociology and psychology of religion from American universities. He has taught sociology of religion and psychology of transcendence and in China translated and published 20 books on meditation.
Exhibitions: Alok exhibits worldwide. His painting, “Just This! Just This!” was the entrance piece to the exhibition, “Harmonizing with the Infinite” at the Seattle Asian Art Museum in 2001 and 2002. He has had solo exhibitions at the National Ethnographic Museum in Sweden, the Great Hall of Exhibition in Shanghai, the Water Harp Temple and Garden in Pune, India, Exposures International Gallery in Sedona, Arizona, Kim 3 in Santa Barbara, CA, The Gallery at 910 in Denver, Colorado, and Goldenstein Gallery in Sedona, Arizona.
Calligraphic Portraits: Alok is best known for his singular work of creating Zen Calligraphic Portraits combined with exploration sessions for individuals, couples, families, and organizations. He began in 1974 and has completed more than 1,500 such works of “living art” around the world. Since 2003, he has painted Zen calligraphic portraits for guests at Mii amo, the destination spa of the Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona. He has also used this medium for “individual assessment” of a team of facilitators at the Boeing Leadership Center in Seattle, WA, and for training with the Global Diversity film team at Nike, Inc. in Portland, OR.
Workshops: In Sweden, Alok has taught a segment of a psychotherapist training called, “Creativity and the Emptiness of the Self”. He has taught workshops on “The Creativity of Non-doing” at Konstfack, the largest art college in Sweden, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, the Humaniversity in Holland, the Sedona Arts Center in Arizona, the Transformational Research Project in Bend, OR, Arts Alive!, Santa Barbara, CA, Naropa University, Boulder, CO, Featherstone Art Center in Martha’s Vineyard, and with Persons of Good Fortune, Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan. He also teaches yearly workshops at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY.
Events: In September, 2004, he opened a conference in Paris, France, on “The Art of Management” with a Zen painting, and gave a presentation on “The Creativity of Non-doing as the Context, Muse, or Instrument of the Art of Management.”
In January, 2006, upon the invitation of Breaking the Ice, a non-profit organization in Berlin, he served as the “spiritual elder” in the Jordanian desert with a group of Israeli and Islamic individuals preparing to go through the Sahara Desert together as an experiment in making peace. With them, he created two spontaneous Zen calligraphic paintings, “Morning Heart in the Middle East” and “On the Way”. He plays a major role in the documentary film of this trip, “The Tao of Peace.”
He is currently completing a book titled, “A New Manifestation of Zen As Art.”