In retrospect,Chinese painting of long standing and Chinese landscape painting has formed an artistic system as early as Tang Dynasty. The succession of eminent masters such as Fan Kuan and Zhang Zeduan has pushed the artistic level of Chinese landscape painting to a historically new peak in Song Dynasty. Under the arduous efforts and coming up of generations of artists, Chinese landscape painting maturing with each passing day in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, and developed the distinctive and traditional Chinese art of landscape painting.
Chinese landscape painting has two greatest achievements which laid down the foundation of traditional Chinese painting. Firstly, the application of scattered perspective composition technique (also known as mobile viewpoint technique) has broken the limitation of specific time and space, created more rooms for thoughts and ideas, which enable artists to exert their imagination more adequately and to depict the complex vast scene orderly just like our national heirloom“Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival”. Secondly, the use of the sense of space (also known as gradual change technique) allow the artists get rid of the limitations in the composition , and integrate the landscape from different time and space reasonably which could express the best realm of imagination.
These great achievements of traditional Chinese landscape painting are deeply influencing the modern Chinese art. There are number of masters such as HuangBinhong, Zhang Daqian, QianSongyan, Fu Baoshi, Li Keran, Lu Yanshao, Li Xiongcai and Guan Shanyue, who base on the traditional techniques and unite with their own artistic innovations, finally open up the new landscape painting style and become a generation of masters.
Since the Eighties of last century, the coming of the world’s Information Era and the rise of China, modern Chinese artists have more exposure to the best of the ancient and present as well as Chinese and overseas art. Under the nurture of Chinese traditional art together with the broadened artistic vision, Chinese artists have the most favorable conditions to perform their talents and accomplish the fruitful artistic achievements. Similarly, the development of Chinese landscape painting is also prosperouswith the emergence of a group of outstanding representative, includedthe one who is young but experienced, Mr. FengYiming from Tangshan, Hebei Province.
It has been twenty years since I met Mr. FengYiming when he was around 20 years old and already was a professional artist. What impressed me most was his brilliant artistic genius and profound painting skills. Of course, this is not simply fortuitous,which is attributed to his early training of painting. Under his father’s patient guidance, the famous Chinese artist - FengLinzhang, FengYiming has been familiar with the traditional Chinese painting techniques and the unique painting skills of Feng’s family since childhood. It is significant that in the long-term assiduous study and artistic pursuit, he cultivated himself the valuable artist’s sentiment that could stand through the loneliness and austereness. Perhaps, Feng’s family had experienced the hardships of surviving through the Great Tangshan Earthquake which made the young Yiming already know how to treasure the family and time, also feelgratitude to life and things around us.This is the strong driving force that led him strive for the best in his artistic life.
He then acquired an opportunity of studying in Academy of Fine Arts where he further absorbsdifferent nutrition of Eastern and Western painting. He advocates artistic creation should merge the merits of Western and Eastern art with perfect harmony and emphasizes on artist’s own literary andaesthetics cultivation. He loves nature because it could give him endless inspiration and peace of mind. Every time he faces the magnificent mountain and rivers, his current of thought will keep surging and inspire him to pick up the brushes to paint out his passion. Therefore, Feng devotes a long period of time every year for landscape tours in order to understand the beauty of nature. He believes that the concordance of subjectivity,aestheticismand the beauty of nature, the “union of nature and man”which is pursued by Chinese landscape painting and also pursuing in his goal of entire life.
In the past two decades, FengYimingstrives for this goal by hisarduous efforts and tireless artistic creation. His works demonstrated the union of human-being with the nature and outside world, merged with his own true feeling as well as his understanding towards the nature, society and culture. He makes use of his brilliant talent and solid skills in combining the essence of the traditional painting with modern aesthetic sense, blended with different techniques in handling the light and color composition. This made his works isfull of magnificence, transcendence and elegance, and created his unique artistic style and fully demonstrated the fascination of nature.Feng’s distinctive style not only becomes the indispensible brick in the Chinese landscape painting system, himself also starts the miracle that the one even young but also could be a pivotal member in the field of Chinese landscape painting.
From 1991 to 2010, FengYiming created a large number of fine works. In 1992, his painting was awarded Top Grade Prize in International Chinese Paining Exhibition of Beijing; In1994, his painting was selected in the 8th National Art Exhibition. Since 1995, Feng has held numerous solo and joint exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United States. His works continuously are selected in the Chinese and overseas international auctions and received great achievements. He has been highly acclaimed by the art fields and art collectors from China and overseas. Feng is now regarded as one of the most promising young artist in China.
In this twenty years, I personally witnessed FengYiming’s endless efforts and outstanding achievements. I am very pleased with his rapid progress and at the same time added a warrior with real strength in our Chinese art field.
Today, after years of preparation, “Affection for Landscape – Fine Arts Exhibition of FengYiming” will be inaugurated. This is a summary of his artistic accomplishmentin the past two decades, also as a new start for his coming artistic journey. I wish him success for this grand exhibition, and sincerely hope that his artistic career will open up a new chapter with more brilliant achievements.
Kwok Ho Mun
Director of Wan Fung Art Gallery
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