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The origin and idea of “The Art of the Pang’s Family” exhibition on view from February 10 to 25 in Lung Men Gallery can be traced back to 36 years ago, when my father Pang Xunqin and my mother Qiu Ti were still alive, and my sister Pang Dao and I were starting our art careers after graduating from the art academy. My mother were beginning to paint bodies in the teacher’s studio in the institute where she taught. She was the one who sacrificed most for our family. Studying in Japan in the early years, she retuned to China and joined the Storm Society in Shanghai in 1931. As one of the very few female artists in the progressive art community in China, however, her name was scarcely documented. During the Sino-Japanese War, she stopped painting for more than 10 years to support our family in hardship: aside from teaching us to read and write, she knit sweaters, made cotton-padded jacket and cotton shoes, made salted eggs, fermented tofu, sausages, cured bacons… Hardly any oil paint or canvas, besides air alarms and food shortage, could be found during the war years…
Sadly, when my mother finally had the chance to resume painting, as we were organizing a family exhibition, the ‘anti-rightist’ campaign against intellectuals in China broke our expectations. My mother died of heart disease during the high points of the campaign. She was 48 years old.
As “The Art of the Pang’s Family” was inaugurated in Taipei, my parents had already passed away: my mother had died 32 years ago, and my father had died 5 years ago. The artists in the Pang family extended from two generations to three generations have retained their faith in art: what is important is not their experiences and positions in the family, but their art. As a family, they choose their own paths. My parents will be comforted to know how we as the younger members of the family are committed to the principle.
It is a rare opportunity and precious experience for the family exhibition to open in Taipei, at a right time in a right place and with right people. The greatest challenge was gathering works, of which my father’s were especially difficult to obtain. His only three posthumous works in the collection of my stepmother Yuan Yunyi simply cannot be transported to Taiwan from China. As for his other works, we have made tremendous efforts to house them in Pang Xunqin Memorial Arts Museum, which is expected to be constructed in our hometown Changshu, Jiangsu Province, according to my father’s wish. To realize the dream, we donated all of the 125 ancestral properties in exchange for several hundred thousand Chinese Yuan as the fund for the museum. After more fund was enthusiastically raised by the related institutions in our hometown, its construction finally began, but was halted for lack of additional sponsorship, which approximates 2 or 3 hundred thousand yuan. It is currently suspended. Learning the bad news, I can only keep silent, for there is nothing I can do to improve the condition.
Only about a dozen of my father’s works are in overseas collections. As far as I know, one is collected by a Japanese mogul, and several are in the possession of the cultural figures in Hong Kong and England. Some works collected by the American friends during the war are nowhere to be found. In Taiwan, none of the national, provincial, or city museums collect my father’s works, which is a pity. I am also personally grieved by the fact that I do not own any of my father’s works. He had made some excellent large-scale oil paintings in France. During the Cultural Revolution, one day I was suddenly compelled by a hunch, and ran home to ask my father about their whereabouts. He told me, “I have burned them all two days ago. The self-portrait was (lost) in the academy…” It was too late for me to save them. My father had worked on oil paintings with his characteristic colors and forms into the last moments of his life. On the eve of leaving China, I asked if he could give me a painting. He said, “We’ll talk about that later.” He was frugal about his works. Instead of selling them in exchange for anything, he would rather keep them with him for all his life. This is perhaps why his works are largely unknown! However, as his son, I would rather show them to the public than lock them in a storage. I would rather exchange them for people’s memory of him.
My sister Pang Dao and her husband Lin Gang were both senior professors in the Central Academy of Fine Arts before they retired after 40 years of teaching art. Their works represent part of the higher development of oil painting in China. They are now living in Los Angeles. Their contribution to the family exhibition is made possible because they had brought some works with them as they left China. Their daughter Lin Yan is also a graduate with honors of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. She has been living in the United States since she graduated with a MA degree from an American university. Lin Yan contributes to the exhibition as one of the third-generation artists in the family.
As for my family consists of me, my wife Ji Hong (Chang Hongzhi) and my daughter Pang Yao: our small family is also a family of painters. There does not seem to be any ’head’ in our family. We are equal before art: each of us has our own style and respect the others’ decisions.
Working as a stage designer knowledgeable in the fashions of various dynasties and ethnic costumes, Chi Hong is actually an oil painter of landscapes and figures with folk interests and decorative qualities. She is preparing for her first exhibition of oil paintings.
As an artist working on oil painting for more than 40 years, I frequently sought opinions from my daughter, who is a high school freshman, and often received unexpected reminders from her. I always told her when she requested suggestions from me that, “Listen to your heart. You can ignore my opinions.” It is a tradition in our family to respect independent thinking and personal perspectives. Pang Yao participates in the exhibition as one of the third-generation teenage artists in the family.
It should be noted that, it is not easy for Pang Dao and Lin Gang to bring a small part of their works from China to the United States, and then transport most of them to Taiwan. Thus, though the idea of family exhibition emerged 36 years ago, and resurged about 10 years ago when my father was still alive, and after I went to Hong Kong. When my father died four years ago, we also discussed it with his old friends in Hong Kong. However, it had not been realized until we as the younger generation of the family fulfilled it after the deaths of my parents. Although the inaugural exhibition in Taipei displaying limited works is modest in scale, the idea of passing on art is intact. Perhaps its limitedness and deficiency are thought-inspiring.
Lin Gang’s and Pang Dao’s works reveal the academic tradition and the influence of Impressionism on their use of color, despite their differences in style and subject. This suggests how different the influential senior and middle-career Chinese artists like them are from the ‘radical’, ‘avant-garde’, yet blind and uncultured young artists. The former explores art on the basis of their experiences and cultivation; their works as the results of their lives and thoughts intend more to express their minds than to flatter, and therefore should be ‘relished’ slowly to grasp their differences and profundity.
A particular pity is that, the exhibition does not include my mother Qiu Ti’s works. Even I have no idea where they are. I can only remember a self-portrait and a painting of distorted female bodies, which are stylistically unique, from a publication. My mother preferred still lifes. Of her oil paintings I saw in my childhood, “Straw Mushroom” and “Calla Lily” are very impressive. She loved painting calla lilies… My mother’s works can only stay in my mind like a dream. She is the absent artist in the family exhibition.
Studying in Académie Julian and Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris from 1925-1930, Pang Xunqin co-founded the Storm Society in Shanghai in 1931 to advocate a modern, progressive art movement in China, as stated by its manifesto, “Let us rise! With raging passion and iron will, we will create our world with colors, lines, and shapes!” Since 1931, he had been a professor and dean in the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, National Beiping Art Academy, Sichuan Provincial Art Academy, National Central University, Guangdong Provincial Art Academy, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhejiang Art Institute, Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1956, he founded the Institute of Arts and Crafts, and served as a professor and deputy director in the institute. He died in 1985.
Artistic Idea: Dedicated to innovations and a modern progressive art with national characteristics, Pang Xunqin opposed to the established formulas. His words “My life is one of exploration” has become a famous quotation in the art world.
Exhibited works: “Tang Dynasty Dancers”, “Hmong Women”, “Rain”
Pang Dao graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1953, and completed her master’s program in 1955. She was Professor of the Department of Oil Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Member of China Artists Association, and Member of Beijing Oil Painting Society. Pang Dao and Pang Jiun held their first exhibition in Guangzhou in 1947, and exhibited their oil paintings again in Yili Gallery, Shanghai, in 1948. She held a solo exhibition in 1986. Since 1954, she has exhibited in solo and group shows, including Beijing Art Exhibition, National Art Exhibition, and Beijing Oil Painting Society Annual Exhibition, and those in Yunnan, Kunming, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Japan, and Paris. From 1984 to 1985, she went to Paris and European countries for a year, and published Oil Paintings of Lin Gang and Pang Dao in 1984. Her works are collected by the National Art Museum of China and the collectors from America, England, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Artistic Idea: Adhering to the basic principles of oil painting, Pang Dao explores color and the beauty of new forms. No longer working on restrictive, descriptive works, she wants to express her mind. She thinks that the philosophical tendency of modern European paintings also results in descriptive works that emphasize content, though painters are generally weak in logic, and the theories and aesthetics related to their works are usually derived by commentators. In her view, the modern American art shows an entertaining, fun-loving tendency that contradicts the basic principles of painting.
Pang Dao’s recent works explore the harmony and contrast of colors in her distortion of the patterns on bronze vessels. Inspired by the forms and ideas of the Chinese ancient art, she creates works devoted entirely to the canvas, to the pure beauty of painting.
Exhibited works: “Tibet Woman”, colored works and works of the distorted patterns on bronze vessels
A graduate student and teaching assistant in the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1950, Lin Gang studied in Repin Institute of Arts from 1954 to 1960, and graduated from Boris Ioganson’s studio. In 1960, He became a professor and director of the fourth studio of the Department of Oil Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts. He participated in Beijing Art Exhibition and National Art Exhibition many times, and in group exhibitions in Japan and Hong Kong. He was the winner of First Class Award in the 1951 New Year Picture competition, Second Class Award in the 1979 National Oil Painting Competition, Excellence Award in the 1980 National Portrait Competition, and Excellence Award in the 1986 National Oil Painting Competition. Oil Paintings of Lin Gang and Pang Dao was published in 1984. His works are collected by National Museum of History, China Artists Association, Central Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, art museums in Japan, and collectors from Japan, America, and Taiwan.
Notably, the Russian environment in which Lin Gang studied has protected him from the drawbacks of Chinese oil painting. He emphasizes color, dynamic strokes, and realist forms. Studying in one of Russia’s oldest and most authoritative art academies, he was personally trained by the master Boris Ioganson in his studio, and graduated with outstanding grades.
Exhibited works: “Nuoergu”, “Mist”, “Fishing Village”
Interested in painting since her childhood, Ji Hong enrolled in Tianjin Normal College and then studied oil painting in Beijing Art School. She was a stage designer in the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, Beijing Dance Academy, Central Song and Dance Ensemble, China Oriental Performing Arts Group, All-China Federation of Trade Unions Cultural Troupe, and Henan Song and Dance Academy. She also made props and designed silk figurines, which is a special craft. Despite her achievements in crafts, she has insisted on painting oils. Since 1980, she has settled in Hong Kong, joined Hong Kong Art Researching Association and Hong Kong Modern Art Research Association, and exhibited extensively. Her works are collected by collectors from America and Taiwan.
Artistic Idea: As life is full of difficulties and humanity is cruel and violent by nature, Ji Hong prefers nature to the human world. She likes sketching outdoors, and paints only when she is inspired. She is unwilling to force herself. She appreciates Paul Cézanne and Issac Levitan, and enjoys painting roads and rivers, as we have been facing all kinds of roads in our lives: roads on the lands and seas, as well as other “roads”… She loves the limitless sky. The mind is free from the pressures of life when one sketches in nature. Among the different paths of art, she chooses sketching, and paints after nature.
Exhibited works: ”Xindian Riverside”, “Ginger Lilies”, “Hmong Women”
Graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts with a bachelor’s degree in 1984, Lin Yan then studied in l’École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts from 1985 to 1986. From 1986 to 1989 she studied in Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated with a MA degree, and then served as a teaching assistant for three semesters. She has exhibited in Beijing Art Exhibition, Central Academy of Fine Arts Student Exhibition, and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Student Exhibition many times, and participated in the Chinese Young Artists Exhibition and Chinese Artists in France Exhibition. She took part in a mural project in Amsterdam in 1986, and held a solo show in Haas Gallery in Bloomsburg in 1988.
Artistic Idea: Lin Yan turned from realism to abstraction in her recent shift towards the avant-garde. Her dream is to design walls for large buildings.
Exhibited Works: “Taiji”
Pang Yao began sketching in 1982, and has been painting oils since 1987. She is in her freshman year in high school.
Artistic Idea: Pang Yao appreciates paintings that reveal strokes, Impressionism, fashion design, and colors. She thinks that sketches also have colors, which are black, grey, and white.
Pang Jiun held his first exhibition in Guangzhou in 1947 with his sister Pang Dao, entered the Hangzhou Academy of Art in 1949, and was transferred to the Central Academy of Fine Arts three years later, from which he graduated in 1954. In 1956, he joined China Artists Association. During his career as a professional painter in Beijing Fine Art Academy for 26 years, he also taught in other art academies, and participated in National Art Exhibitions and Beijing Art Exhibitions. In 1978, he founded Beijing Oil Painting Research Society. In 1980, he settled in Hong Kong, and held a solo exhibition of oil paintings in Hong Kong Arts Center. After another solo exhibition in Hong Kong in 1981, he joined Hong Kong Art Researching Association and Hong Kong Modern Art Research Association, and exhibited annually with the other members. He also participated in Hong Kong Art Biennial, while teaching oil painting in School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Department of Music, Hong Kong Baptist College. In 1987, he exhibited oil paintings in Lung Men Gallery, Taipei, and began teaching at the National Taiwan Academy of Arts. Techniques of Oil Painting was published in 1988. In 1989, he exhibited oil paintings in Lung Men Gallery and Taichung Contemporary Art Center, and became a committee member of oil painting for Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition.
Artistic Idea: During his art career spanning more than 40 years, Pang Jiun is devoted to expressing the poetic sentiments and emotions of Chinese literati painters. He seeks to achieve the profundity and strokes of Chinese landscapes and flowers, and explore a new road for oil painting with its particular medium and techniques.
Exhibited works: “Family of Wealth and Prosperity”, “Silver Waves”, and “Drizzle in Xingping”
The works I exhibit may include another three or four small works, which have complete concepts but are yet to be realized on canvas, and are thus not listed. I refrain from including them in the list before they are finished. Their titles will not be revealed before they are exhibited.
