The Artistic Achievement of Fan Shao Hua
Fan Shao Hua’s artistic endeavour – spanning four decades to date without diversions – is characterized by his encompassing passion, curiosity, thoroughness, intensity, prolific output and professionalism. His wide-ranging artistic diversity is sweeping: the demanding art of realism, the probing art of portraiture, the instinctive art of ink expression and the inventive art of abstraction.
The Art of Portraiture
Vincent van Gogh, the great Dutch artist of the 19th century was obsessed with his self-portrait. He believed that a person't face – beyond the surface – reflected an inner personality enhanced by emotion. To reach the depth of his vision he devised a painting process which could explore the endless possibilities with his characteristic expressionist colour and searching brushwork. Painting at an intense pace from 1887 to 1888, van Gogh created more than 20 self-portraits capturing the constant shifts and fleeting moments of his facial expression. Today, many of these works are acclaimed as timeless masterworks. According to Fan:
Among the diverse realms in my overall artistic endeavour – realism art, Chinese ink painting, abstract art and my intensive, ongoing Abstract Lotus series – the art of portraiture is, for me, the most challenging.
There is an inner personality in a person which is not immediately reflected in the face superficially, and I embrace the daunting challenge to capture the unique inner personality which is capable of radiating joy, dignity, vitality, courage, aspiration and even mystery.
In Singapore I often feel fortunate in encountering experiences I never had in China. Here I encounter diverse nationalities with their different backgrounds and cultures. Their distinct facial expressions have great appeal to the portrait artist.
The portrait of Beto, a Mexican, is a classic example of Fan’s portrait art. Fan met Beto, a complete stranger at a social gathering and was instantly impressed by his sharp, distinct features and immediately decided that he would be a challenging portrait subject. The painting’s process was intriguing: as Fan probed the facial expression he began to encounter the subtle, fluid passages in between the main features which added to the complexity of the facial expression.
The paradox between the intent gaze and the mystery of the evasive nuances makes the work an exceptional one which holds the view’s attention.
Art of Realism
'Childhood in Chinatown' is a remarkable portrayal of a scenario of Chinatown in the 1950s. It is meant to be part of a tribute to Singapore. The architectural setting, the people and the typical activities have been so stringently researched right to the minute detail that they immediately bring the scene to life.
What is also unbelievably impressive is that literally every facial expression and every physical gesture are so carefully studied that there is a buzz in the atmosphere. Fan also shows the power of colour. By lighting up the faces and the animation of the people with such authenticity and by reconstructing the environment so truthfully, the artist succeeds in transporting the viewer back to a Singapore of the 1950s.
Art of Chinese Ink Painting
In the 20th century a select number of brilliant Chinese ink painting exponents emerged successively. More importantly, each working independently, invented a powerful new approach to the centuries old art form and in this way contributed towards extending its boundary. The timing was crucial. According to Fan:
When I encountered the various concepts and principles which propelled the brilliant and traditional Chinese ink painting, I was thrilled. I immediately saw their potential in today’s modern ink painting through the process of revitalization.
Remarkably, as far back as the Song Dynasty, the towering masters of landscape art already originated the concept of multiple-perspectives in landscape art, thus giving the landscape its fascinating visual layers. With its resilience, the idea is still of great potential today.
The Yang Zhou monks – in their Chinese ink painting – daringly shifted the focus from the precise brush techniques to the artist’s impulse as the powerful driving force of the work. The result: they set a new direction in ink painting filled with fresh possibilities.
That Zheng Banqiao’s traditional ink paintings of the theme of bamboos never losing their visual lustre is the outcome of his creative thinking. His forte: to conceive the white spaces in the painting as a powerful visual force which could transform the painting.
In the 20th century a select number of brilliant Chinese ink painting exponents emerged successively. More importantly, each working independently, invented a powerful new approach to the centuries old art form and in this way contributed towards extending its boundary. The timing was crucial.
Qi Baishi – one of the first to capture public imagination – brought further sophistication to the brushstroke by infusing it with intensive sensitivity. His paintings were characterized by many strengths: clarity, immediacy and elegance.
Huang Binhong was obsessed with creating works with resilience in the extreme, with his powerful line technique charging the work with ferocious speed he processed his work with layers of instantaneous decisions, forging works with layers of experience.
One of the most gifted and original 20th century ink painting practitioners was undoubtedly Fu-Baoshi. He broke a sacred rule in Chinese ink painting when he began saturating the white areas with expressive brush marks. His ethereal impressionism infused his painting with an evocative sensitivity: a rare feat in Chinese art.
The ferocious splash-ink technique opens the door towards experimentation and modernisation in the traditional Chinese ink painting. Its potential knows no bounds. A leap of imagination is capable of bringing about daring scale and bold inventions. The exponent in the forefront: the versatile Zhang Daqian.
The brush-technique has always been the centre of the Chinese ink painting with everything else revolving around it. Through the inventions of era after era of brilliant exponents, it has evolved to becoming such a powerful mechanism of creativity that it is capable of invoking layers of visual experessions. In the work ‘Autumn Wind’ (2007), Fan creates a multiplicity of visual effects.
Less is more. It is a phenomenon which those who pursue artistic creativity discover. The artist, the designer and the architect all embrace it. Laozi clarified it. In his ‘Conversation’ (2007), Fan – with an impulsive swift operation – forged a dynamic work with a multiplicity of visual effects: tantalizing balance, spacious suspense, provocative implication.
The ink-splash technique inspires the ink exponent to aspire to the realm of the unknown. The temptation to reach out to the unreachable is a powerful driving force in ink painting. Through a leap of imagination, the artist could create evocative visual expressions on a daring scale. In his work ‘Radiant Reds’ (2007), Fan exploited the ink-splash technique with full effect, creating a dramatic work with multiple dimensions.
The Fleeting/Lotuses Series
In an extensive exercise which began in 2007 and continued till 2014 – moving at an intensive ferocious pace – Fan mounted his gigantic painting series, ‘Fleeting Lotuses’. Fan revealed:
Amidst my wide-ranging involvement in my art endeavour, two specific spheres intrigue me the most: the art of modern Chinese ink painting and the art of abstract painting.
What I find fascinating in Chinese ink painting – originating in China – is the phenomenon that a modest mode of painting made up of just ink, water and paper could evolve into a complete process capable of producing masterworks with evocative visual power.
And what I find captivating in abstract art – derived from the West – is its creative power characterized by experimentation, invention, exploration and renewal with the possibility of achieving works of daring scale.
I envisage that the combination of these two artistic forces would forge a new distinct art expression capable of unimaginable potential in artistic inventiveness.
The aim was crystal clear: With the fusion of two of his most involved realms in his overall artistic practice – the art of the ink and the art of abstraction – Fan attempted to exploit their potential strengths in order to forge a new distinctive and invigorating art form.
The powerful technique of manipulation of brush and ink with its potential in evocative nuances and the dynamics of abstract spaces and volumes, mobility, and balance and the speed of thought would be given full play and impact.
The resulting hundred over works possessed many desirable elements which Fan aspired to: shifting focus and balance, constant change and evolution, a distinctive visual expression.
W.Y. Choy
Artist and former Curator of Art at National Museum,
Singapore (1978 to 1985)
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Journey in Art, Retrospective Exhibition by Fan Shao Hua, Singapore 2015
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