By Joyce Hei Ting Wong 黃熙婷 Although Gaylord Chan might not be a household name, anyone who regularly commutes on the Hong Kong MTR is likely no stranger to his artwork. On the walls of the passageway connecting Central and Hong Kong stations is a metal plate relief mural titled Swift and Safe that Chan completed in 1998. Vibrant and childlike, the work displays a bold use of colour and vital simplicity that are at the core of Chan’s artistic language. Born in Hong Kong in 1925, Chan was one of the most original painters in the post-war period, and also served as a dedicated arts educator to generations of students and enthusiasts. Although he only made his first serious foray into painting at the age of 42, he quickly garnered attention as a promising artist in the 1970s after graduating from an extramural art and design course at The University of Hong Kong. Thereafter, he steadily developed a repertoire of abstract paintings and digital drawings over the span of five decades that continues to …