A Tribute to Fang Zhaoling
3-7 October 2024
Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Ink Society presented the exhibition “A Tribute to Fang Zhaoling” at Fine Art Asia 2024, marking the eighth instalment of the Ink Society's “Tribute” series, which celebrates the art and legacies of master ink painters.
This exhibition surveyed Fang's prolific journey with a selection of paintings spanning five decades. Works of the late 1950s and 1960s belong to an experimental period when the artist sought to break free from her training as she travelled widely alongside her influential mentor Zhang Daqian. Paintings in the 1970s reflect Fang slowly coming into her own with bolder compositions and unfettered brushwork that consciously reject the traditional conventions of Chinese painting. Fang cemented her mature style in the 1980s with confident compositions that often reflect China’s majestic landscapes. A unique set of personal motifs also emerged and continued into the 1990s—cave dwellings that symbolize peace, plum blossoms that celebrate prosperity, and boats that wish for smooth sailing amidst change. Determined and resilient, Fang grew to become one of the most original artists reinventing the ink tradition while responding to the tides of time in the tumultuous 20th century.
