Autumn

Hong Ling's oil on canvas best represents his artistic point of view. The polka dots and colour gradation permeating his landscapes indicate a strong influence by the discourse of American Abstract Expressionism. However, upon closer examination of his arrangement of mountains and trees, one instantly senses the grandeur often found in Song ink and colour landscapes. Hong Ling spends most of his time in Huangshan, to which he feels a spiritual connection. By infusing Western landscape painting, or painting of an abstract nature, with the essence of traditional Chinese landscape, Hong Ling magnifies the charm of his natural vista.

The piece is characterised by a compact arrangement of autumnal mountain forests. The densely distributed dots and splashed ink is not purely abstract. Rather, these dots and splashed ink are connected by branches outlined in delicate brushstrokes; in so doing, Hong recreates the foliage reminiscent of vintage Song pieces, and they qualify this seemingly nonfigurative work as a full-fledged natural landscape. Hong utilises the richness of oil paint to enhance the varying depths of perspective, while emphasising the seasonal flavour by preparing for the viewer a rich vermilion autumn tapestry.