Lot 1108: HONG LING

HONG LING
(B. 1955)
Melody of Autumn
a set of five oil on canvas
overall: 200 x 260 cm. (78 3/4 x 102 3/8 in.)
Painted in 1994

Beijing, China, Annual Exhibition of Nominated Artists, National Art Museum of China, 1994.
Hong Kong, China, Schoeni Art Gallery, Symphony of Landscapes: Works by Hong Ling, March 1995.

Schoeni Art Gallery Ltd., Symphony of Landscapes: Works by Hong Ling, Hong Kong, China, 1995 (illustrated, pp. 80-81).
Hebei Education Press, Hong Ling: Spirit of Landscape, Hebei, China, 2006 (illustrated, pp. 82-83).
Hebei Education Press, Xing Ling Shan Shui: the Oil Paintings of Hong Ling, Hebei, China, 2008 (illustrated, pp. 50-51).

"When I paint by building up of layers of texture and colours, a symphony is created," says Hong Ling. Hong's symphonies are simple but elegant, expressive while contemplative. In Melody of Autumn (Lot 1108), junks tranquilly reside on still water; trees surrounding the water have just refreshed their summer lush green foliage, in return covering themselves with a rainbow of lighter and darker tones of greens and yellows. In the five panels that this work spans, each panel is distinct from each other in the brightness of the tones, beginning with the brightest from both ends, to the darkest in the middle. The grey sky and the dark green water deepen both the melancholy of autumn and the focal depth in the image; both gradually converge towards the middle of the painting.

Hong's background has given him a thorough understanding of the Chinese art tradition, especially the delicate sensitivity that is required to create and appreciate traditional Chinese landscape paintings. With that great tool at hand he combines Western Impressionist and Expressionist techniques to give charm and intensity to his work. Hong indulges in observing and contemplating the landscape that surrounds him and is not bound by what he sees. Having drawn simple sketches, he would then return to his studio, splash paint on the canvas to recreate the landscape through his recollection and feelings attached to the scene. In Melody of Autumn, shapes are concrete but abstract at the same time. While sky, water, rocks, and trees are easily distinguishable, they do not possess clear boundaries as to where they begin and end. They are instead liberated by free brushstrokes that blend each element harmoniously into another. Hong realistically depicts his subjects while allowing imagination to roam freely on the canvas. This innovative symphony that he creates has accumulated the wisdom from both Chinese and Western artistic endeavors. The result is a brand new and provocative way of conveying Chinese landscape to its ever-changing audiences.