Lan Zhenghui
b. 1959, ChinaLan Zhenghui originally went to college to study engineering, however, in a brief yet impactful moment of observing colour combinations on some small labels, he changed course and switched direction toward art. He was accepted a few years later by the prestigious Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, from which he graduated in 1987. He then taught at Chongqing University until 1993, before devoting himself full-time as an artist, reaching a pivotal point in his career with his selection for a solo exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in 2006. He currently lives and works in Beijing.
Lan’s large-scale, often monumental abstract ink paintings, occupy an aesthetic confluence between traditional Chinese ink painting and Western abstract expressionism. Preferring to focus on the relationship of integration and macroscopic processes over detail and realism, he allows the ink to flow freely and paints with bold, kinetic strokes. Through his many years researching the language of vision, Lan’s artistic philosophy has evolved to reflect the mantra of one of his favorite artists, Wu Guanzhong: “Good art will shock you.” The viewer does not need to understand the specifics of the painting, but rather connect to a quasi-spiritual experience beyond the work, a feeling that is exciting, yet almost jarring, approaching the border of the magnificent.
Lan Zhenghui’s work has been collected by museums, universities, and is part of private collections.
Courtesy Alisan Fine Arts
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