News, on October 7, 2023, China Guardian Hong Kong's "Visualization - Collection of Treasures of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting from Around the World" was officially launched. Xu Hualing's "Outside the Window 1" was estimated at HKD 1,000,000-2,000,000. It was hammered down at HKD 2,000,000, plus commission of HKD 2,400,000, which refreshed my personal experience. Auction record (breaking the record held by China Guardian Beijing's "It's Better to Go Back" on May 18, 2015, which sold for CNY 1,725,000).

Xu Hualing (b.1975) Outside the Window 1 This work on silk with color in the center of the mirror is approximately 13.1 square feet, inscribed: Ling 2018.

Publication: 1. "Xiang·Xu Hualing's Recent Works", published by Nanhai Art Center, plates 7 and 8, first edition in August 2019.

2. "New Dimension—Central Academy of Fine Arts Chinese Painting Collection", Anhui Fine Arts Publishing House, page 93, first edition, August 2021.

3. "Yuhua", Issue 819, 2020, front cover, sponsored by Jiangsu Provincial Writers Association.

4. "The 11th National Meticulous Painting Works Exhibition", page 299, Culture and Art Publishing House, first edition in April 2021.

5. "2022 China Meticulous Painting Yearbook" Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House, page 193, first edition, September 2022.

Critic Shen Kui said that Xu Hualing is undoubtedly one of the most successful painters in expressing contemporary urban youth. When I first saw her works, I was immediately attracted by the images of innocent urban girls in her paintings. The images of simple yet fashionable girls in her works reveal the youthful atmosphere of the times. In her early years, Xu Hualing received solid training in traditional academy fine brushwork and human body sketching techniques, and has excellent skills in painting language expression. This can be felt in every detail of her portrayal of characters.

Her paintings seem to have great similarities with traditional gongbi drawings or Japanese paintings, such as the shading of colors, but in fact they have already transcended these traditional painting norms and stylistic techniques, and are not restricted to specific painting materials. The most important thing is the difference in concepts. Her purpose is not to reproduce the plot. What she focuses on is how to freely use her unique painting language to reveal her own world of perception and express her concern for personal emotional consciousness and life. Therefore, Xu Hualing's paintings reflect the contemporary nature of social culture in both conceptual form and pictorial context.

The images of young women in Xu Hualing's paintings are obviously contemporary. They are reserved and graceful, but at the same time not shy about showing off their youthful selves. The self-love and narcissism of contemporary urban young women is so calmly and clearly displayed in her writing. However, she seems to intentionally avoid being misunderstood as a true portrayal of specific objects. Most of her compositions select parts of the human body and place them in an abstract background space to distance themselves from reality. She once said, "There are two factors that are very important in my creation. These two factors are complicated lines and light colors." In the use of colors in the picture, Xu Hualing tried to simplify it as much as possible to enhance the simplicity of the overall picture. transformation, creating the unique elegant atmosphere of her paintings.

Although starting from her "Fragrance" series, we can see that Xu Hualing deliberately avoids the emphasis on hook lines in traditional gongbi drawings in the modeling of the human body, removing edge lines and using light and shadow as a means. At the same time, in order to avoid falling into the trap of oil painting sketch modeling The effect is to intentionally weaken the contrast between light and shadow to create an illusory and hazy feeling. But it seems that the long-term training in gongbi drawing at the academy has made her unforgettable about lines. The girl's long hair here just gives her the best space to display. The delicate depiction of strands of blue silk fully demonstrates her skillful use of line expression. In order to enhance the contrast between the density and reality of the painting, Xu Hualing's works often include subtle depictions of the texture of gauze scarves or the lace patterns on clothing. The "chaotic lines" that make up these gossamer shoes and floral patterns, together with the simple abstraction of other parts of the painting, create a unique aesthetic.

Xu Hualing's recent works "Outside the Window", "It's Better to Go Back" and "Walking in the Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms" adopt the method of double-layer image superposition. The introduced photographic images enrich the layering of the picture, add to the dreamy color of the picture, and extend the various possibilities of interpreting the meaning of the work. These works of Xu Hualing also adopt close-up compositions of parts of the human body, cutting off the middle part of the body, or facing away from the viewer. She boldly abandons the depiction of facial features and even eyes, which usually express emotions most directly, and uses body posture and gestures to show the subtle psychology of the characters and convey the youthful atmosphere of an innocent girl.

The images of girls in these works are placed in double shadows of dream-like natural scenery. Whether it's the girl's body immersed in the snow-capped trees by the river in "Walking in the Snow in Search of Plum Blossoms", the girl walking among the flowers and plants in "It's Better to Go Back", or the girl standing meditating in "Outside the Window", this The misty and ethereal surreal dream scenes seem to convey the longing, hesitation and confusion of the girls when facing the unknown future world. In these paintings, Xu Hualing brilliantly demonstrates her unique understanding and interpretation of the emotional psychology of contemporary urban girls, accurately capturing a distinctive corner of contemporary urban culture. The faint youthful atmosphere exuded in the picture is intangible and indescribable, yet it is so elegant, fresh and intoxicating. Perhaps this is the feminine fragrance in Xu Hualing's heart.
 

It broke the record held by China Guardian Beijing's "It's Better to Go Back" on May 18, 2015, which sold CNY 1,725,000.

About the artist

Chinese painter, born in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and currently teaches at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Her paintings originated from gongbi paintings, and incorporated many language elements from other paintings, such as the weakening of line drawing, the enhancement of boneless and changes in tonality, etc., to reflect her perception and application of modern visual aesthetic taste. Her works are delicate and elegant, often expressing her body to reveal the current living situation.

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