Fu Hong
A finalist in the 2008 Archibald Prize with his penetrating and brooding portrait of art doyen Dr Joseph Brown, and in the 2009 Archibald Prize for his compassionate portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, challenging contemporary realist Fu Hong, renowned for the lavish and sensuous manner in which he captures the emotional state of his subject in a dynamic synthesis of classical realism and impressionist colour application, continues his fascinating painterly journey by consistently reinventing his theatrical approach to picture making.
Born in China in 1946. Graduated from the China Arts & Crafts Academy, Beijing. From 1966-68 he was artistic designer for the China Theatre Music Academy, from 1974-75 artistic designer at the Central Folk and Dance Troupe of China, from 1975-80 artistic director at the National Central Television Drama Section and Broadcasting Arts Company of China, and from 1985-90 director of the “artist’s gallery” of China National Artistic Association, Beijing.
Since arriving in Australia in 1990, Hong has gained a deserved national and international reputation for his original synthesis of representational painting with “impressionist” and “expressionist” leanings. Each individual picture has an experiential sculptural syntax underscoring its pictorial space – one can actually see the solidity of his pictorial forms and “feel” them through his skilful and inventive use of modelling, perspective and spatial illusion.
At heart he is a finely attuned and astute colourist with a sensual, tactile approach to the spontaneous application of paint and the intuitive balancing of colour contrasts and harmonies – he is not hamstrung by notions of yesterday’s classicism – he is a true modernist realist with a technicolour palette – and he is not afraid to compose chromatically.
Hong’s nudes possess a voluptuousness of shape – it is as though he has caressed them awake from the surrounding painted field; his landscapes reveal an expressionist-like impasto of blotches, strokes and nuanced flourishes, his drawings reveal powerful draftsmanship, and his flowers stand alone in contemporary floral realism.
His impressive achievements include: finalist 2008 Archibald Prize; winner Best Portrait 2006 Lexus Mortimore Prize; 2006 Archibald Prize Salon des Refuses; finalist 2005 John Glover Art Prize; finalist 2004 Dobell Prize for Drawing; finalist 1996 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize; and winner of the 2002 Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award. His work is featured in the collections of China National Gallery, the Murdoch Family, Sir Charles Court, Crown Casino, the Ethel Turner Family, Safti Military Institute of Singapore, and many more.