The "Born in Tranquility" oil painting exhibition of Hong Ling's mountain and water works, co-organized by Aurora Art Center and Soka Art, opened on November 9, 2024 at Aurora Art Center in Shanghai and will last until December 8, 2024. This is the first large-scale solo exhibition of artist Hong Ling in eight years, showing Hong Ling's latest painting ideas and extensions. Wu Hongliang, the current president of the Beijing Academy of Painting, was specially invited to serve as the curator of this exhibition, and Peng Feng, the dean of the School of Arts of Peking University, was the academic host.

The title of the exhibition, "Living in Peace", is quoted from "Zhuangzi·Inner Chapter·Grand Master Chapter 6", which states that "Those who kill will not die, and those who give birth will not live. As for things, they will do everything, and will welcome everything; they will destroy everything, and they will accomplish everything. It is called peace. Peace means that one will accomplish everything after peace." The "peace" expounded by Zhuangzi means to maintain inner peace and tranquility in the hustle and bustle of the outside world, and to achieve a spiritual state of being detached from the world. In Hong Ling's more than 40 years of artistic practice, natural philosophy has always been running through it. He retreated to Huang Yue and experienced his ups and downs over the years. He stood in the clear light and examined all things with the momentum of "undressing like a monk", and transformed the form of Kunling into paintings. This not only shows the painting skills of Chinese landscape painting that is simple and complex and the aesthetic concept of the coexistence of reality and illusion, but also allows the aesthetic subject to be one with nature in the pursuit of desirelessness and inaction, and reach a state of forgetting both the self and the world.

Zhuangzi believed that everything in the world will eventually return to the same, and there is no difference between life and death. Things are gradually heading towards death when they are born, and vice versa, extinction is the beginning of life. This concept of "equalizing life and death" is also reflected in Hong Ling's creation. Spring goes and autumn comes, and the years go by. The artist captures the rhythm and poetic rhyme of nature, uses form to flatter the Tao, and uses painting to prove the cycle of life between heaven and earth. The overlapping layers of Chong'a in the painting blur the boundaries between each other, and the concept of space becomes hazy; the stream flowing through the dense forest is shimmering but cannot retain time, and the gains and losses of the law of nature always follow it; the cold snow in the clouds does not freeze the mountains, because the warm jade smoke indicates that spring is coming. Hong Ling freely wields his brush and ink in the vast universe, abandoning the delusions that are easily disturbed by the world, and returning to the original. It is as if all things have no birth and no death, no past and no present.

Exhibition time: 2024.11.9 - 2024.12.8
Exhibition location: Shanghai Aurora Art Center
Artist: Hong Ling
Curator: Wu Hongliang
Academic Director: Peng Feng
Organizer: Aurora Art Center
Co-organizer: Soka Art
 

About Hong Ling

Hong Ling was born in Beijing in 1955. He graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1987. He is currently a member of the Chinese Artists Association and lives and works in Beijing and Huangshan, Anhui.

Hong Ling has held many important exhibitions at home and abroad. His major solo exhibitions include:

“Born in Peace”, Aurora Art Center, Shanghai (2024); “Hong Ling:

The Four Seasons of Heaven and Earth”, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing (2017);

“Retreat from the Underworld - Hong Ling 2017 Works Exhibition”, Soka Art, Taipei (2017);

“Hong Ling Retrospective”, Bath Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, UK (2017);

“Hong Ling Retrospective”, Brunei Art Gallery, SOAS, University of London, London, UK/Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Ireland (2016);

“The Great Beauty of Heaven and Earth - Hong Ling Art Retrospective”, National Art Museum of China/The Palace Museum, Beijing (2015);

“Tracing Traces and Reflections - Hong Ling Solo Exhibition”, Poly Art Space, Hong Kong (2014);

“The Heart and Nature - Hong Ling Ink Painting Exhibition”, Soka Art, Taipei / Tainan (2013);

“Tao follows nature - Hong Ling solo exhibition”, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei (2013);

"Hong Ling - Contemporary Chinese Landscape", London Asian Art Foundation, London, UK (2012);

"Boundless Scenery - Hong Ling Solo Exhibition", Today Art Museum, Beijing / Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou (2011);

“Calling the Peaks – Hong Ling Solo Exhibition”, Soka Art, Taipei / Tainan (2010);

"Spiritual Landscapes - Hong Ling Solo Exhibition", Soka Art, Taipei (2008);

"Rhythm of Rivers and Mountains - Hong Ling Solo Exhibition", Soka Art, Beijing (2006);

“Hong Ling Solo Exhibition”, Cape of Good Hope Gallery, Singapore (2004);

"Landscape with Charm - Hong Ling Solo Exhibition", Taipei Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei (2003);

“Imagery Landscape - Hong Ling Solo Exhibition”, Soka Art, Beijing (2001);

“Hong Ling Solo Exhibition”, Cape of Good Hope Gallery, Singapore (1998);

“Hong Ling Solo Exhibition”, Cité Internationale d’Art Paris, Cité Internationale d’Art Paris Exhibition Center, France (1996);

“Spirit of Landscape - Hong Ling’s Art Exhibition”, Schoeni Fine Arts, Hong Kong (1995).

Some of his group exhibitions include:

“Art Basel Hong Kong”, Hong Kong International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong (2023/2022/2021/2019/2018/2017);

"Reappearance of Light: Asian Art Exhibition", Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (2023);

“2020 World International Museum Day”, China National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing (2020);

“2019 JING ART”, Beijing (2019);

“G20 Hangzhou Summit”, Hangzhou (2016);

“Chinese Implications - International Tour of Chinese Oil Painting Art”, Palais de Bronnier, Paris (2016);

“Resonance - An Exhibition by Teachers from China Central Academy of Fine Arts”, National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia (2014);

“Presence - The 2nd China Oil Painting Biennale”, National Art Museum of China, Beijing (2014);

“ChiFra China-France Art Exchange Exhibition”, National Art Museum of China, Beijing (2014);

“From Beijing - Exhibition of Works by Teachers and Students from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts”, New York Academy of Art, New York (2013);

“Resurrection of Tradition - Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition”, Istanbul Congress Center, Istanbul, Türkiye (2013);

“Creating Cities - London Olympic Art Exhibition 2012”, Barbican Centre, London, UK (2012);

“Joint Exhibition of Chinese Oil Painters”, Busan Museum of Art, Busan (2012);

“Future Passport - Parallel Exhibition of the 54th Venice Biennale”, Venice, Italy (2011);

"Enlightenment of Imagery and Transformation - A Contemporary Restatement of Traditional Thinking", National Art Museum of China, Beijing (2009);

"From Beijing to Melbourne", Melbourne Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia (2003);

“Future, Present, Past – 47th Venice Biennale”, Venice, Italy (1997);

“Chinese Postmodern Art Exhibition”, Brussels Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium (1995), etc.

Hong Ling's works have been collected by public institutions and private collections such as the National Centre for the Performing Arts, National Art Museum of China, Aurora Museum in Shanghai, Zhi Art Museum in Chengdu, Quanta Foundation in Taiwan, Yuanta Foundation in Taiwan, SOAS Gallery in London, and Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin.

About Wu Hongliang

Wu Hongliang is currently a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, President of the Beijing Academy of Painting, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Curatorial Committee of the China Artists Association, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Artists Association, and curator of the China National Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.

Wu Hongliang is an expert in Qi Baishi and 20th century art history and an influential curator. In 2008, he participated in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games and public art projects. Under his leadership, the Beijing Art Academy Art Museum was selected as one of the first nine national key art museums. The research results published by the Beijing Art Academy and the exhibitions launched have won more than ten national awards from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other institutions for many consecutive years. He participated in the planning of bringing Qi Baishi's art to Hungary, Japan, Liechtenstein, Greece, Italy, Germany, Latvia, Sweden, Macau and other countries and regions for exhibition, and participated in the organization of academic projects such as the "Curating in China" Forum and the Qi Baishi Art International Forum. He participated in the planning of the Guangzhou Triennial, Chengdu Biennale, Wuhan Biennale, Art Changsha, and the "Self" series of exhibitions. In 2022, he served as the director of the planning committee of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics Public Art Global Collection Project. In 2023, he was invited to serve as the art curator of the China Pavilion at the 2025 Osaka World Expo. Wu Hongliang has published many papers in professional journals such as "Literature and Art Research", "Fine Arts", "Art Observation", and "Art Research", and published the monograph "A Single Leaf Tells the Autumn".

About Peng Feng

Peng Feng is currently the dean of the School of Arts at Peking University and vice president of the International Association of Aesthetics. In 2011, he served as the curator of the Chinese Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale. He has published academic monographs such as "General Theory of Art Studies".

About Aurora Art Center

Aurora Museum A2 space has been officially open to the public since 2020. After four years of careful planning, it is now officially named Aurora Art Center. We will start from this new beginning and continue to explore and innovate thinking to present a rich and diverse art world to the audience. Aurora Art Center aims to look to the future and will continue to launch contemporary exhibitions and activities, looking forward to providing a diversified art platform through continuous artistic exploration and innovation.

About Soka Art

Soka Art was founded in Taiwan in 1992. It mainly deals in works by outstanding contemporary Asian artists. It is the earliest gallery in Taiwan to systematically deal in Asian contemporary art. Soka Beijing Space was established in 2001 and is located in Beijing's 798 Art District. Soka now has three spaces in Beijing, Taipei, and Tainan. It has become an international gallery that spans Chinese classics and contemporary art works, and is committed to promoting Asian contemporary art, with influence covering all of Asia.

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