Culture

The Artists of Songzhuang Part 2

By David Friesen

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In part 2 of our series of articles on the artists of Songzhuang, we take a look at another five of the most promising and respected artists of this community, and the huge range of variety and creativity in their work.

Zhang Lun (张伦)

The first of these is Zhang Lun. Zhang Lun is a painter of abstract facial portraits. The use of colour blending and soft backgrounds mixed with a strong use of shadow and contrast give his pictures a power and emotion all of their own. In technical terms, his pictures have many elements of cubist portraits, with examples of geometric dissection and abstraction of the facial features. However, they are not purely cubist because of the other types of lines used in the pieces. The stark lines of the faces mixed with the softer blended portions of the paintings make for a visually stunning spectacle.

Wei Bao Gang (卫宝刚)

Many pictures here use swathes of singular colour and with a singular figure. Others have the use of a few colours but with heavy brush strokes unbound by planning or thought. Very instinctive and free artistically Wei Bao Gang paints in the moment with pure emotion. The use of large similarly coloured landscapes and big flowing brush strokes aims to show the different facets of nature as well as human's link with nature. It expresses the idea that even in an empty field we are not alone; for all around us is living. There is something beautifully calm and serene in many of Wei Bao Gang's pieces.

Li Shu Yang (李梳扬)

Li Shu Yang uses simple print forms with basic lines and textures to capture the essence and expressions of the face, both in terms of adults and even small babies. The pictures of adults convey a fuller realisation of the face, echoing the formation of adulthood. The baby prints are also like those of an ultrasound, with their vague facial features coming out from a sea of hazy darkness. He gets across the feeling of the newly-formed preciousness of the infants very well.

Hua Ji Ming (华继明)

Although drawing on a variety of styles, much of Hua's work takes its influence from the pop art styling of Warhol. Montages of Chinese cultural symbols and Chinese figures mixed with western icons such as Coca Cola make for bold, bright and visually exciting pieces. Other pieces mix realism with cartoon and photographic techniques such as solarisation to show common actions in a new light. Overall, this art is a great representation of modern Chinese history and culture shown through a well-known and popular artistic method from the West.

Mia米娅

Portraits and still life objects are the main focus of Mia's work. However, for a new take on this style she has purposely left parts of the painting incomplete. Faces are left blank on the figures, and various lines and shadows on objects are left to the viewer's imagination. All painted on completely neutral backgrounds, the focus is firmly on the objects or figures in each painting, and you are drawn to each one's incompleteness. However, the omissions are done subtly and are not always immediately seen. We see the object in question and recognise it as whole, even without some of its crucial parts. This gives paintings intrigue and fuels our imagination.

This concludes the second part of the article series on the artists of Songzhuang. In the third and final part we will once again look at the works of five more artists from the world's largest artist community.

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