Feng Xiao-Min: Brush of Light

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Opera Gallery Hong Kong is delighted to present “Brush of Light,” a solo exhibition featuring twenty paintings by French Chinese artist Feng Xiao-Min. Created between 2010 and 2024, this presentation of paintings fuse an Eastern aesthetic sensibility with Western techniques, dually referencing Chinese calligraphy and American Abstract Expressionism.

Through his multifaceted technique, Feng portrays abstracted interpretations of time to create ambient, dreamlike landscapes concerned with the interplay of form, light and colour. His canvases are imbued with a distinct, wordless sensibility that transcends the boundaries between movements in contemporary and historical painting. They evoke ocean vistas, starless nights and endless dark matter, drawing the viewer in with subtle washes of paint and forming seemingly boundless scenes reminiscent of twilit skies.

Feng Xiao-Min, who moved to Paris to study at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des BeauxArts after his early training in China, manipulates acrylic paint as a calligrapher manipulates ink–with the precise control of the flow of paint and water. The result is an image that incorporates a uniquely broad range of influences, from J.M.W. Turner to Zao Wou-Ki.

The suite of paintings in “Brush of Light” serve as an antidote to the claustrophobia of modern life. “In a somewhat chaotic world today,” the artist explains, “I would like to bring and express through my works a kind of balance, purity and serenity.” Feng Xiao-Min’s paintings evoke warmth, softness, depth and diffusion, collectively constituting a duality of wonder and tranquillity. Through his use of vivid colours and bold contrasts, he brings his hazy subjects to life through spatial configuration with an atmospheric quality, conveying a sense of movement and transformation.

Each brushstroke is imbued with deep artistic intent, created at a rare intersection of technique and expression. Each canvas embarks on an emotional journey, guided entirely by the artist’s intuition. Referencing the raw and powerful energy of the natural world: skies and oceans, hopeful dawns and dramatic dusks. Ultimately, his work is a homage to light, and an invitation to open our eyes and contemplate it with renewed wonder.

Part of the French May Arts Festival 2024

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Born in 1959 in Shanghai, Feng Xiao-Min graduated from Fine Arts studies in China and moved to France in 1988. He enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and was later invited to teach at the same prestigious institution from 1997 to 2000. He currently lives and works in Paris.