 | Many of the contemporary artists from China that have been exposed to Western influences are currently developing original styles that encompass the best of both Eastern and Western cultures. Lu Hong is being recognized on an unprecedented level throughout the world for his ability to synthesize East and West.
Lu Hong, a child of the revolution, was born in 1959, in the coastal city of Qin-Huang-Dao. In 1966 the Cultural Revolution began and the effects of this political upheaval were profound for Lu Hong's family. His father, who had been a professor of mathematics at the University, was reduced to doing labor along the harbor. During the late 1970's, while Lu Hong was attending high school, channels of communication were reopened to information from the Western world. It was during this time, that Lu Hong's family was visited by his uncle, Ting Shao Kuang.
Ting was not only a world-renowned painter and teacher, but also the respected leader of the contemporary Chinese art movement known as the Yunnan School. Ting recognized the signs that predicted future greatness in the abstract paintings of his young nephew. Ting inspired Lu Hong to make use of his innate artistic ability. Immediately after graduating from high school, Lu Hong moved in with Ting and began to study under his tutelage. He learned everything that he could from his mentor until Ting immigrated to the United States two years later.
In 1981 Lu Hong was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Lu Hong quickly became frustrated by the academic restraints imposed upon him. The traditional techniques taught did not meet his needs for freedom of expression. Therefore, after attending the Academy for a year and a half, he left to experiment and develop his talent on his own.
Lu Hong was influence by the works of Paul Klee, Modigliani, and Picasso. He listened to the classical music of Chopin, Mueller and Wagner and read books on poetry, Western literature and psychology. Lu Hong relates, "All my life I was forced to think and act a certain way, but after I left the academy, I began to develop my own style of thinking and painting." Seeking intellectual and artistic freedom, Lu Hong moved to the United States in 1986 where he was reunited with his teacher, Ting Shao Kuang. Due to the encouragement that he received from Ting and publisher Ron Segal, Lu Hong has become one of the most acclaimed contemporary Chinese artists in America. |
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