Why artist Feng Xiao-Min’s paintings don’t have titles

Chinese-born French artist Feng Xiao-Min no longer gives his paintings titles, believing that naming his work prevents viewers from making up their own minds.

“I used to name paintings as soon as I finished. But several years ago, I realised people would explain my paintings to me based on the titles: their own imaginations were blocked,” he says.

“Inspired Resonance”, Feng’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, is an opportunity to sit and ponder 27 of his artworks, 20 of which have not previously been seen in public. The largely abstract natural landscapes created with vivid lashes of colour chart the artist’s career since the early 2000s and his transition from paper to canvas.

“Before, I could throw the work away easily, but now I keep it and, through finding solutions, I can get good surprises”
Feng Xiao-Min

As if to validate Feng’s wish, 8.8.18, a dreamlike piece rendered in sunlit shades of ochre, sand and amber, was interpreted by onlookers at the exhibition’s launch as showing a beach at low tide; others saw a shimmering desert or sailing boats. Some form of water, a favourite theme of Feng’s, features in almost every artwork.

To add an extra sensory dimension to the experience, viewers are invited to wear headphones playing music by British-South Korean pianist Yiruma and a poem about nature by a woman who felt inspired after attending Feng’s exhibition last year in Shanghai. The audio element is designed to replicate the state of mind in which Feng likes to work.

a man wearing a suit and tie© Provided by South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

Born in Shanghai, Feng has lived and worked in Paris since studying at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in the late-1980s, and is credited with shaping the French capital’s contemporary art scene through the blending of French and Chinese styles and influences.

Although the artist gained a reputation in his younger years for being a mercurial perfectionist, prone to finding fault with and, subsequently, even sabotaging pieces that had already been sold, the 60-year-old says these days he is more willing to set a painting to one side and revisit it later.

“When I paint, I imagine it will go one way, but often I encounter difficulties. Before, I could throw the work away easily, but now I keep it and, through finding solutions, I can get good surprises.”

“Inspired Resonance” will be shown at Opera Gallery, W Place, 52 Wyndham Street, Central until February 28.

Lauren James

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP)

Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Source: https://www.msn.com/zh-hk/news/other/why-artist-feng-xiao-mins-paintings-dont-have-titles/ar-BBTbJYz

Feng Xiao-Min: Inspired Resonance – Opera Gallery Presents Feng Xiao-Min’s Hong Kong Solo Exhibition

Opera Gallery, located on Wyndham Street, will host Feng Xiao-Min’s first Hong Kong solo exhibition from 18 January – 28 February 2019.  A new collection entitled ‘Inspired Resonance’ by the French-Chinese contemporary artist showcases colourful and meditative abstract landscape-inspired works.

The exhibition features a total of 27 of Feng’s large scale ethereal paintings dating from 2013 – 2018, set aside specially for the Opera Gallery exhibition with 20 of these pieces never seen before.

After studying fine art in China and spending 30 years in France, Feng’s work celebrates the fusion of Eastern aesthetics and Western techniques depicting his visions of landscapes from dusk to dawn.

No specific subject or location inspires Feng; instead he focuses on the powerful visual effect produced by the blending of colour and the spatial configuration of the whole image.

Taking inspiration from his training in traditional Chinese calligraphy, Feng uses acrylic on canvas and skilfully mimics the Chinese aesthetic of ink on paper, often being known to paint on the floor to control acrylic and water flow.

As part of the Opera Gallery showcase, Feng will exhibit an artwork honouring his peer Zao Wou-Ki. Feng and Zao, along with artist Chu Teh-Chu, have been instrumental to the French-Chinese art movement in Paris and assure a continuity of monumental colourful abstract works by Eastern artists on the French art scene.

Creatively blending the spiritual landscapes of the East, and the romantic colours of the West in their paintings, these artists have expanded the language of painting to show the Western world the creativity and excellence of Chinese artists and their origins.

Following his fine art studies in China, Feng enrolled in the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris (National School of Fine Arts of Paris) and later taught at the same esteemed institute from 1997 to 2000. It was after this that Feng focused entirely on his own creations.

Feng was commissioned to produce an artwork for the 2017 BRICS Summit – the international relations conference – of which China is a member. Today, his artworks are frequently exhibited at international art fairs and biennales as well as displayed in various private and public collections, including galleries, museums and foundations around the globe.

Inspired Resonance’ by Feng Xiao-Min

  • Exhibition dates: 18 January – 28 February, 2019
  • Opera Gallery, W Place, 52 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
  • Monday – Saturday: 10:00am-7:00pm | Sunday and Pubic Holidays: 12:00am-6:00pm

More details about the exhibition:

“Asia Abstract” exhibition at Opera Gallery Hong-Kong

Opera Gallery is presenting a new group exhibition “Asia Abstract” featuring the artworks of several artists, including paintings from the French-Chinese artists Zao Wou-Ki, Chu The-Chun, and Feng Xiao-Min, .

Date: September 28 – October 31 2018

Location: Opera Gallery, W Place, 52 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong, 中環雲咸街52號W Placw

Courtesy Opera Gallery

 

For more information, you can find more details about it by reading the article through the link below, here is an extract:

Featured Chinese-French artists, Zao Wou-Ki (b. 1920), Chu Teh-Chun (b. 1920)and Feng Xiao-Min (b. 1959) are known for their modernist approach in integrating traditional Chinese brush-and-ink technique with Western abstract art. Over the course of their artistic career in France, the artists have acquired techniques passed on by European masters and have adopted manners of abstract expressionism and lyrical abstraction. The rhythmic nuances demonstrated in their bold sweeping strokes of colours are reminiscent of Chinese landscape paintings. While the message of the artwork may be elusive, viewers are left to bask in the immense beauty and strong emotional impact derived from the artwork’s depth, poetry and musicality. Combining Western abstraction with Eastern sensibilities, the artists collectively aim to expand the limits of painting, express nature in its fullness and give an authentic Chinese vision of the world.

https://www.lianapress.hk/releases/lifestyle/discover-asia-abstract-with-opera-gallery-this-september.html

You can also find all the details about this exhibition in the link below:

http://www.operagallery.com/event/index/index/eventId/465/

Dukascopy TV – Special interview of Feng Xiao-Min

Watch the latest interview of Dukascopy TV with Feng Xiao-Min here.

You can also find the entire article here:

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zrvdORIFs_gCqrdRhzzDpA

ICS TV – Feng Xiao-Min’s Solo Exhibition at Jing’An Sculpture Park

ICS TV presents Feng Xiao-Min’s Solo Exhibition at the Art Center of Jing’An Sculpture Park in Shanghai (5th March – 15th April 2017):