Hong Zhu An | Arrival Of Autumn

Courtesy of the artist and Ode to Art

Hong Zhu An is one of the most important Chinese ink artists in Singapore today. Having trained under famous art scholar Wang Zidou at the Shanghai Art and Craft Institute, Hong is proficient in both Chinese and Western Art. He has exhibited across Southeast Asia, the United States of America and Australia. His works can be found in the collections of major institutions such as the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Princeton University Museum and Singapore Art Museum.

Hong’s paintings glow with layered pigments that create an expanse of colour and depth. This meditative output results in a work that helps bring the viewer to a similar state of calm and inner harmony. In Arrival of Autumn, Hong unified two different pictorial elements: a wall of intricate writing is juxtaposed with an abstracted landscape in natural tones. The colour palette embraces a balance of warm and cool hues in a manner that sustains visual interest while maintaining a sense of serenity.

While his aesthetic leanings can be traced back to Chinese philosophical tradition, Hong has effectively broken away from classical Chinese painting’s iconography throughout the course of his oeuvre. Instead, he singles out its elements and gestures as foundation blocks in his syncretic visual language.