Fang Zhaolin

Acquired from the artist's family
Private Collection, China

China, Changchun, Jilin Provincial Museum, The Portfolio of Zhang Daqian and Fang Zhaolin, August 2013
China, Jinan, Jinan City Art Museum, The 10th China Art Festival, Forging a Path - An Exhibition on the works of Fang Zhaolin, October 2013

The Portfolio of Zhang Daqian and Fang Zhaolin, Hebei Education Publishing House, Hebei, China, pp. 72-73

Generally good condition overall.
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Fang Zhaolin was a woman ahead of her time in modern China, and a representative of a group of worldly intellects that developed and catalysed the contemporary ink tradition overseas during a turbulent time in Chinese history. Fang began her education in Chinese painting at a young age through private tutors and went abroad to Manchester University to study European history. After her marriage, she studied under the tutelage of Zhao Shaoang, who taught her guohua(national painting), and Zhang Daqian, who encouraged her to explore expressionistic styles of painting.

Having endured the civil war in China, Fang Zhaolin's paintings often reflect experiences of survival and festive recognitions of a better world. Boating on a Lake (Lot 44) and A View from Hong Kong Island  (Lot 45) are both uncommon works painted in her later years that depict the peaceful everyday lives of fishermen. The unusually calm depiction of the waters is noteworthy in contrast to the boldly outlined waves recognised in her Boat People paintings – an iconic series depicting Vietnamese refugees fleeing their home country in the late 1970s and 1980s. With light ink washes and simplistic brushwork, Boating on a Lake and A View from Hong Kong Island are soft yet powerful expressions of peace that emanate a humble serenity from daily life.