Happy Lunar New Year!
Arting Gallery is delighted to present Zheng Hong: Lotus and Landscape Paintings, an online exhibition with private viewing, opens February 11 - April 11, 2024, featuring signature works of the artist.
Prof. Zheng Hong is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Chinese paintings. He has been actively committed to innovative, contemporary art based on inheritance of traditional Chinese paintings and philosophy for more than 30 years. The well-known Chinese critic and Professor Meilan Sun from Art history Department, Central Academy of Fine Arts, believes that ”Zheng Hong’s sense of innovation and composition were developed simultaneously, which helped him formed a unique artistic appearance: calm, detached, integrity oriented, full of vitality.”
Zheng Hong studied in Fine Art major in the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts from 1981 thru 1985. Currently he works as a full-time professor at Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University. He is a member of the China Artists Association (CAA), vice chairman of the Fine Arts Professional Committee (CCCAA), and member of the Arts Committee of Li Keran Art Foundation.
Artist Statement
--Zheng Hong
My redefinition of contemporary ink and color lotus painting is inspired by the fact that lotus is the common symbol of in Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. For centuries, it has been a prominent theme in Chinese painting, not only because of its elegant and pure, graceful image, but also because of its inherent characteristics of "coming out of the silt without dyeing", which symbolizes the noble character, holiness, auspiciousness, love, friendship, freedom and independence. In an attempt of depicting lotus inner characters I inherit tradition of ink painting while mixing contemporary values and individuality. They are characterized by a harmonious blend of realistic beauty with artistic conception that emphasizes the wildness aesthetic value of lotus and create visual impact. This is also achieved through the use of cyan color as a key tone along with rich spatial arrangement which are quite different from conventional 'flower arrangement' style.
My exploration of contemporary expressionist ink landscape painting are aesthetically based on the integration of "Tao (The Way) Follows Nature " and "Truth, Goodness and Beauty" and redefine contemporary ink landscape painting.Following “Clear the mind and heart to appreciate Tao” I aim to explore and construct creative methodology in contemporary oriental philosophy and aesthetic value, therefore to develop unique painting language and category with the meaning of contemporary oriental philosophy and aesthetics. “Clear the mind and heart” is one of supreme spiritual activities of human beings, a unity of artistic realm and philosophical realm, and a self-reflection of art personality, while appreciation of Tao is also an expression of Chinese philosophical concepts of life understanding. Tao is represented in art form. Art embraces Tao. Tao gives art depth and soul, forming human life emotions and artistic conception. I strive to expand the depth and breadth of landscape painting, break the stylized bondage of traditional "scholar’s landscape painting”, and to depict the diversity of landscape aesthetics with contemporary aesthetic images of "Tao Follows Nature" from a new perspective. In my creation, Qi is applied to take shape, reveal the existence from the absence, create intangible presence, with the help of "accidental" to express nature, and show the vastness of rhythm of landscape and wild beauty of landscape.
