Lu Hong was born in Qin Huangdao, a coastal city in northeastern China. Weathering the harsh times that marked China's oppressive Cultural Revolution of the 1960's, Hong graduated high school and was already exhibiting a great talent for painting when a visit by his uncle sealed the boy's fate: Uncle Ting Shao Kuang was a great painter himself, indeed one of the respected leaders of the world-renowned contemporary Chinese art movement known as the Yunnan School. With his mentor on board, Hong went on to attend the most prestigious art school in China, the Central Academy of Design and Arts in Beijing, followed by a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Following his uncle and continued artistic success, Hong moved to the United States in 1986. Inspired by artists like Paul Klee, Modigliani, and Picasso and the music of Chopin, Mueller and Wagner, Hong continued to expand his horizons, finding his own unique voice and style after years spent suppressed by China's Communist regime. One of Hong’s specialties is creating his multi-faceted original paintings on rice paper – an extremely delicate and temperamental material. He uses a variety of water based mediums, such as watercolor, of course, along with gouache, Japanese mineral paints and Chinese stone paints. His composition takes form as an initial line drawing which is carefully rendered on the rice paper. He uses liquid acrylic to adhere this sheet to another sheet of rice paper, then mounts the artwork onto his painting board. Drawing the lines again over his initial sketching, painting over and over these fine lines with his chosen palette, and meticulously filling in all the smallest details, the finished artwork is cut from the painting board.
Since having his work introduced by Segal Fine Art during the New York Art Expo and Los Angeles Art Expo in 1987, Lu Hong has become one of the most acclaimed contemporary Chinese artists in the world. His works have been exhibited in Japan, France, Holland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Canada. He has had shows in most major American cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Houston, and Honolulu.
Lu Hong's works and exhibitions have been reviewed by many local and international publications, including Art in America, Art News, Architectural Digest, Artists (Taiwan), The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Weekly, World News and China Daily News. In 1989, Segal Fine Art published the book "Lu Hong Life and Art" by Wen-Kuang Chang and Jeffrey Goldberg. |
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