Thunder Afar: Tang Contemporary Art

Tang Contemporary Art is proud to present “Thunder Afar”, a solo exhibition by one of the iconic Chinese lyrical realists He Duoling, at Hong Kong gallery. The exhibition features the artist’s creation since 2010, including latest series like “Wild Garden”, “Various Flowers”, “Nymph”. He Duoling is long acclaimed by his idyllic, sentimental and mysterious figuration. With his sophisticated use of palette and composition, both figures and still objects show an unrestrained liveliness. His latest paintings are an epitome of how He embraces the freedom of painting and mastery of skills.

He Duoling is recognized as a talented realist painter. Sharing fame with Luo Zhongli and Zhang Xiaogang, He is a pivotal artist in the development of Chinese contemporary art in the South-West region. Although awarded with a profound reputation, He Duoling is always indifferent to the trend of vanity in the art industry. As if escaping from the hustle and bustle, whether depicting a turbulent flow of water or a lush green garden, the loose and hazy paintings send a piece of tranquility just like the painter. In search of a poetic expression of the subject, He established a unique, signature realism which is melancholy and lyrical at the same time. His figurative works either shape a drifting space between reality and literary, or return to the nature of the pictorial language.

Best art always moves its audience with the artist’s honest and effusive emotions and possesses the potential of transcending time and becoming classic. Thunder Afar, the leading piece of this exhibition, was completed in 2014, yet corresponds to our present times so well. It depicts the indifference of people to crisis during peaceful days. Maybe as the curator Kuang Wei puts it, “Thunder Afar seems to tell us what is going to happen.” It might not be the artist’s original intention, but his works is a crystallization of wisdom to help us seeing through the world.