Soka Art will participate in Art Shenzhen from Sep 12th to Sep 15th at booth A08 of Hall 6 of Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. This time, we sincerely present 10 contemporary artists: Chen Wenling, IIda Kiriko, Hong Ling, Liu Qinghe, They +, Tang Zhiyi, Wu Li, Yang Hong, Zeng Jianyong and Zhao Bo (in alphabetical order).

Hong Ling (b.1955)

Hong Ling was born in Beijing in 1955, known for combining literati spirit and nature landscape on canvas. In the early days, he was invited to participate in the 1997 and 2011 Venice Biennale, representing Chinese artists. In 2015, Hong Ling and Soka Art jointly held a two-year world tour. In 2017, Hong Ling was commissioned by the National Center for the Performing Arts to create the work "Four Seasons Symphony", which later was permanently collected. Hong Ling's works have been collected by Robert Tsao (Top 100 collectors in the world), Barry Lam (Top collector in Taiwan) and many other top-notch private collectors, as well as by international art museums and institutions.

Chen Wenling (b.1969)

Chen Wenling was born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province in 1969. He graduated from the Arts and Design College Xiamen Fuzhou University and Central Academy of Fine Arts in succession, and now lives in Beijing. Chen Wenling is a contemporary artist who quickly established his own artistic language in Chinese contemporary art. His artistic origins are derived from the soil of the "consumption world", thus characteristics of a social reality are imaged. He was awarded the title of China-Australia Art Ambassador by the Australian Government in 2015. In 2012, he won the top 3 AAC Art China's annual influence sculptors. In 2011, he won the Paes International Coast Sculpture Exhibition Public Art Awards in Australia. His works are also favored by many art institutions and enterprises such as Alibaba Group, Parkview Green, etc.

Liu Qinghe (b.1961)

Liu Qinghe was born in Tianjin in 1961. He graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1989 with a master's degree and now is the dean of the Chinese Painting Academy of CAFA and doctoral tutor. He pays attention to the spiritual image of current people, showing incredible talent between the traditional ink painting and contemporary reality. Liu Qinghe has participated in several major domestic and foreign exhibitions while his works have also been collected by many institutions around the world, such as the Australian Embassy, the Boston Art Museum, the National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Art Museum and so forth. 

Zeng Jianyong (b.1971)

Zeng Jianyong was born in Guangdong in 1971 and graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Either from his ideology or the ink painting techniques, Zeng Jianyong has created an artistic style that cannot be ignored in contemporary Chinese ink painting. Rather than choosing to stick with the traditional Chinese painting technique, he combines the traditional material with contemporary themes to create art works. Therefore, he is considered to be one of the representatives of the new ink art movement with his works being collected by many important art institutions: Shanghai Yuz Art Museum, National Art Museum of China, Hong Kong Harbour City Art Museum and so forth.

They+ (b.1978、1979)

The art brand “They+” created by Yang Xiaogang and Lai Shengyu has been active in the forefront of Chinese contemporary art for 16 years. With its rich and diverse art forms and unique styles, it has become an outstanding representative of the post-70s concept painting. In 2012, they were included in the book "25 Chinese Contemporary Artists You Must Know" by internationally renowned art critic and curator, Professor EMILY LEISZ CARR of the University of California, Berkeley. Other artists in the book include Cai Guoqiang, Xu Bing, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Xiaogang, Luo Zhongli, Zhou Chunya, Fang Lijun, Yue Minjun, Wang Guangyi, etc. So far, they have held solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions of art galleries and important institutions around the world hundreds of times. Their works have been collected by JP Morgan family, South Korea Samsung Group, Nokia Corporation, Central Fine Arts College Art Gallery, Sydney White Rabbit Art Museum, Japan Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Tan Guobin Museum of Contemporary Art, etc.

Wu Li (b.1983)

Wu Li was born in Hunan in 1983. He was not a graduate of any art academy, however Li Xianting, the father of Chinese contemporary art called him "a genius painter". Wu Li sincerely faces the growing reality experience and is extremely calm in the wave of global contemporary art. Compared with the vivid color of the picture and the sensation of the strokes, Wu Li is calm and stable, simply following his heart. In recent years, he devoted himself to the study of watercolor painting. He combines the transparency of watercolor with the writing traces of brush, thus to make the oriental artistic conception of the work perfectly blend into the rigorous rationality of Western painting. As a result, Wu Li's work is relaxed, full of magic and contrast. The strong colors are mastered by Wu Li, with a distinct personal style. His works have been favored by many institutions and collectors, and even artists such as Yue Minjun and Mao Yan have collected his works.

IIDA Kiriko (b.1970)

IIda Kiriko was born in Hokkaido in 1970 and she is now a popular Hokkaido artist in Taiwan. She graduated from the Hokkaido School of Design in 1991 and has won numerous awards in Japan afterwards. With nostalgic and fantasy style, IIda Kiriko was selected to exhibit in many art fairs such as "Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair", "Taipei International Contemporary Art Fair", "Kyoto Art Fair", "Nagoya Art Fair", "Art Basel Hong Kong" and so forth. She is good at extracting new worlds from ordinary landscapes, and her work is filled with quiet, bleak and warm atmosphere.

Yang Hong (b.1988)

Yang Hong was born in Hunan in 1988 and graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts. Cultivating from the tradition painting of the Song Dynasty, Yang Hong learned the solid training of ink and wash, and then integrated the contemporary vocabulary into classical painting. He used the "folding color" and "stacking" to show the transfer of objects and space, which is similar to the film segmentation technique, expressing the context of oriental delicate charm. There's always magical color in his painting, with a slight atmosphere of surrealism. Since graduation in 2012, Yang Hong has been exhibited at the Today Art Museum, Xi'an Art Museum, Chongqing Art Museum, and Jiangsu Art Museum, receiving a lot of positive feedbacks.

Zhao Bo (b.1984)

Zhao Bo was born in 1984 and graduated from Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts with a master's degree. He grew up in Shenyang, a heavy industry and ancient city rich in history and culture. Under the influence of where he lives, he creates symbolic scenes with strong contrast highlighting the reflection and feedback on real civilization. Under the explosion of information and environmental pollution, Zhao Bo reveals a unique sense of tragedy through his works. The magical doomsday scenes and dazzling wild colors are a metaphor for the modern chaotic society and mental anxiety. His works have been collected by Shanghai Aurora Art Museum, Chlitina Group, Taiwan Collection Magazine and so forth.