Village

Fang Zhaoling is one of the most prominent female artists in the history of modern Chinese ink paintings. This sale features four works by the artist, including two early landscape works from the 1970s, a calligraphy couplet and an impression of Stonehenge both dated 1997. The 1970s marks a turning point in Fang Zhaoling’s career when her most distinct landscape painting began to emerge. Most works from this decade were created when Fang was living in London. As China re-opened its door to the world, Fang sought inspiration from nature and visited the great rivers and mountains in China including Mount Huang and the Yangzi River. Fang’s encounter with artists during these visits such as Li Keran also left an imprint. Fishing in Winter (Lot 807) pays tribute to the monumental mountains and rivers she saw, and it becomes evident that Fang’s bold calligraphic brushstrokes are incorporated in her depiction of mountains. Village (Lot 804) portrays the mountain community of Wannan, Anhui province, near Mount Huang. The figures, consisting of not only men but also women and children, were uncommon then and are characteristic of Fang’s oeuvre. The scenes of village life can also be attributed partly to the socialist realist movement that was current at the time in China. Fang’s later works in the 1990s are characterised by total calligraphic freedom and idea that further broke free from the convention of traditional ink painting. One can see the correlation between her calligraphic couplet (Lot 805) and her depiction of Stonehenge (Lot 806) – the latter rendered in simple, unsophisticated yet powerful brushstrokes. Throughout her career, Fang has painted scenes from all over the world fully showing her faith in humanity and her optimism in her motherland. A major retrospective exhibition of her work opened at the Asia Society in Hong Kong in autumn 2017, attesting to the importance of her art in the landscape of contemporary ink painting today.