Artist fuses oil painting and Chinese landscapes

BEIJING - Chinese oil painter Hong Ling held his solo exhibition at the Today Art Museum in Beijing and presented a number of grand paintings featuring snow and mountains.

The collection, themed Boundless Momentum, spans from 1991 to 2011, including the dark green four panels (800 *380cm) Spiritual Harmony and another three imposing panels (540*249cm) Boundless.

Chinese oil painter Hong Ling talks to reporters during his solo exhibition Boundless Momentum at the Today Art Museum in Beijing, Dec 18, 2011. [Photo by Uking/chinadaily.com.cn]

The curator Yin Shuangxi, an Associate Professor with the Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA), said Hong dedicated himself for 20 years to incorporating Western oil painting with traditional Chinese painting elements, forming a unique style of instilling “qi” to “appearance.”

Hong Ling now teaches at the department of oil painting, CAFA, and paints at his studio in Huangshan Mountain, one of China’s popular tourism destinations known for its picturesque natural scenery.

Hong considers Huangshan a center of Chinese culture, saying it inspires his understanding of traditional Chinese art concepts of landscapes in association with human life.

"Chinese people don’t paint stone as if it is stone. They actually draw the inner thinking and their hearts. So I think it is a kind of mental training to look at the mountain.”

Chen Hsiao-chun, Chief Executive Officer with the Taipei-based UNEEC Culture and Education Foundation, one of the sponsors of the exhibition, said Hong Ling has maintained a status of walking through south and north China for many years and has formulated his style of being open, unaffected, and full of sentiment.

The exhibition, co-organized by Soka Art Center, will run from December 18 to 26.