Alisan Fine Arts is honoured to present our second solo exhibition of Fang Zhaoling (1914–2006), one of the most important female artists of the twentieth century, as part of the gallery’s 45th anniversary celebration highlighting the “Then and Now”. Fang studied under Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), a towering master of modern ink art, and also apprenticed with Zhao Shao-ang (1905-1998), a leading representative of the second generation of the Lingnan School. Inspired by these predecessors, Fang developed a highly individual freehand language— approaching Abstract Expressionism in its vigour—across a wide range of subjects.
The exhibition will present over twenty works from the height of Fang’s career (1970s–1990s), including landscapes, bird-and-flower paintings, figures, animals and calligraphy, most being shown for the first time. In Fang’s hands, traditional subjects become vehicles for lived experience and collective memory: climbers ascending famous mountains, the rising sun, and communities dwelling in cave homes along the Yellow River evoke her enduring love for her homeland and an indomitable, forward-looking spirit. Her brush-and-ink are rich and forceful; her simplified, emblematic figures became a signature of her mature style, resonant with the tumult and renewal of the twentieth century. These works remain faithful to the literati lineage while, through their attention to contemporary life and environment, achieve a compelling contemporaneity.
