From April 25th to June 20th, 2021, Long Museum (West Bund) will be presenting He Duoling’s solo exhibition Grass and Color. This exhibition brings together more than 70 works from He Duoling’s oeuvre, ranging from the 1970s to the present day alongside various related documents in an attempt to showcase the artist’s unique philosophy and constant evolution. Images of grass have long been present throughout He’s creations over the past forty years and serve as a clue for the viewer to understand the rich and abundant colors present among his paintings.
With the help of his outstanding lyrical abilities and his grasp over the artistic language, He Duoling was able to unfold a new dimension of Chinese painting in the 1980s. Despite the new ideas that were on the rise with the development of contemporary art, He remained the quiet observer of such trends. Instead, the artist concentrated on perfecting his personal expression of an individual life experience, continuously integrating concepts of music, poetry, architecture, and other fields of study into his own works. In recent years, He Duoling sought to expand his already-broad domain to include concepts of nature and memory, depicting the changes of reality and the cycle of time.
This exhibition is curated by Zhu Zhu and designed by Chinese-French exhibition design agency IDEAA3. Together, they have created an exhibition layout that places the artworks in dialogue with Long Museum’s unique architecture, emphasizing the flow and connection inherently present between He Duoling’s various artistic periods. For the exhibition opening, composer Mr. Gao Ping will perform a piano recital. During the exhibition period, a new catalogue of the artist will be announced alongside a related seminar.
About the Artist
Born in 1948 in Chengdu, He Duoling is one of the most celebrated oil painters in contemporary Chinese art. He graduated from the art program of Chengdu Normal University in 1973 and enrolled in the oil painting department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in 1977. After graduating, He remained at the university for a master’s degree in oil painting. He graduated in 1982 and began working as a professional painter for the Chengdu Art Academy. In 1985, He visited the United States to speak at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He now lives and works in Chengdu, Sichuan.
He Duoling’s early influences were Western painters in the likes of Andrew Wyeth. After receiving an education in traditional Chinese painting, He was able to build upon his artistic language by combining oil painting with his newfound knowledge, blending Chinese and Western painting concepts and techniques together. The result is an artistic language that is elegant but lyrical, simple but mysterious.
He Duoling was the receiver of the silver and bronze awards at China’s 6th National Exhibition of Fine Arts, the bronze award of the 7th National Exhibition of Fine Arts, and the Monaco Government Prize. He has presented multiple solo exhibitions across the United States, Japan, and China. He has also participated in various group exhibitions of Chinese artists in the United States, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Monaco, Singapore, Portugal, etc. His works have been collected by museums, galleries, and private collectors all over the world, including the National Art Museum of China, the Fukuoka Art Museum, Long Museum, Song Art Museum, Macau Museum of Art, Yuz Museum, etc.
About the Curator
Zhu Zhu was born in September 1969, Poet, Art Curator, Art Critic. He won the Second Anne-Kao Poetry Prize, the third Chinese Contemporary Art Critic Award (CCAA) and Hushi Poetry Prizes. He has authored poetry collections, essays, and art reviews, including French version poetry Blue Smoke (2004, French version translator: Chantal Chen-Andro), Gray Carnival: Chinese Contemporary Art Since 2000 (Collection of Imaginist by Guangxi Normal University Press in 2013, published by ARTCO Journal in 2016), Only One Gram (2017, published by Henan University Press), the English version poetry anthology The Wild Great Wall (2018, published by Phoneme Media in United States).
