“One of China’s Top 10 Oil Painters” -Wenyi Bao
(Hong Kong 25th October 2008) The hard working lives of Tibetan coalminers are the subject of a series of oil paintings by Chinese artist Chen Guang Ming (陳光明) . The exhibition, the first by the realist painter to be mounted in Hong Kong, will open at Wellington Gallery, Central on Friday, 17 October, 7-10pm.
Praised by art curator Shao Da Qian as “one of China’s Top 10 oil painters,” the collection of 29 oils by Chen Guang Ming depicts the harsh working environment of miners in remote regions of Tibet. In Chen’s works, he is captivated by the everyday lives of Tibetans coalminers. In the artist’s quest to capture the essence of their livelihoods, he visited inhospitable mines on numerous occasions, collecting visual impressions on-the-spot.
Deeply moved by the simple, unadorned lives of the miners, Chen spoke of the harsh working conditions, slim income and the lowly social status these workers with blackened faces endure, but yet they are teeming with life’s vibrancy, optimism and humour.
In Chen’s striking canvases, viewers are confronted with close-cropped portraits of miners where the artist aimed to encapsulate the spirit of his subjects. A sense of unembellished rawness is evident on the paintings’ surfaces, where heavily impastoed, calligraphy-like brushstrokes draw attention to the forces of colours at work. In an attempt to grasp an understanding of their inner harmony through images and hues, the artist mapped an unfamiliar human experience from a far corner of the world. But rather than treating his depictions as a lament, Chen is more concerned with the call for recognizing the contributions to society that the miners made, as well as the social responsibilities of artists in illuminating such subjects.
“When the workers come out from dark mines, they feel re-born and value a sense of their re-birth. They enjoy the fresh air and sunshine that we are all accustomed to. The black on their faces doesn’t hide their fortitude and perseverance. In the grey and black environment of the miners, I look for colours, harmony and contrasts to show their changing inner worlds. The features of their faces and the enlarged scale of the paintings aim to generate impact and a sense of shock, which I hope will lead to providing more care and protection for these workers,” said the artist.
John Truong, Managing Director of Wellington Gallery, is organizing this exhibition for Chen, the artist’s first solo showing in the city. “I greatly admire Chen’s works and he is one of the best oil painters I have encountered. I hope the exhibition will highlight the severe environment these miners endure for their work, and that the awareness will in turn bring improvements,” said Mr. Truong.
Chen Gwang Ming was born in inner-Mongolia in 1954 and began painting in the early 1980s. He was a graduate of the Xu Bei Hong Studio at the Central Institute of Fine Arts in China. Chen has exhibited since 1982 and his works are in collections in the United States, Europe, Singapore and China.
