Alisan Fine Arts is honoured to present our second solo exhibition of Fang Zhaoling (1914–2006), one of the most important Chinese female artists of the twentieth century, as part of the gallery’s 45th anniversary celebration highlighting the “Then and Now”. Fang studied under Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), a towering master of modern ink art, and also apprenticed with Zhao Shao-ang (1905-1998), a leading representative of the second generation of the Lingnan School. Inspired by these predecessors, Fang developed a highly individual freehand language—approaching Abstract Expressionism in its vigour—across a wide range of subjects.

The exhibition will present over twenty works from the height of Fang’s career (1960s–1990s), including landscapes, bird-and-flower paintings, figures, animals and calligraphy, most being shown for the first time. In Fang’s hands, traditional subjects become vehicles for lived experience and collective memory: climbers ascending famous mountains, the rising sun, and communities dwelling in cave homes along the Yellow River evoke her enduring love for her homeland and an indomitable, forward-looking spirit. Her brush-and-ink are rich and forceful; her simplified, emblematic figures became a signature of her mature style, resonant with the tumult and renewal of the twentieth century. These works remain faithful to the literati lineage while, through their attention to contemporary life and environment, achieve a compelling contemporaneity.

Artist Biography

Born to a scholarly family in the city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China in 1914, Fang Zhaoling was a precocious child with strong interests in Chinese calligraphy. She studied bird-and-flower painting under Chen Jiucun (1898-1958) and landscape painting under Qian Songyan (1899-1985) at Wuxi Art College. When she was nineteen, she participated in the White Wave Painting Society exhibition in Wuxi. Her talent and knowledge of Chinese ink art were evident even at a young age. By 1950, she had immigrated to Hong Kong and produced primarily bird-and-flower paintings. A few years later, she started creating landscape paintings in an expressive approach. During the 1960s, she studied paintings by Wu Changshuo (1844-1927) and Qi Baishi (1864-1957) in great detail, learning to use their freestyle method of cursive calligraphy to create paintings. During the 1960s-1970s she joined Zhang Daqian in Brazil and California, painting with him and participating in several overseas exhibitions, including at Scottish National Museum of Modern Art; Royal Academy of Arts, London; De Young Museum, San Francisco; Victoria Memorial Hall, Singapore. In addition, solo exhibitions of Fang were held at institutions such as National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Art Museum; Hong Kong Museum of Art, and Fung Ping Shan Museum at University of Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s. She passed away in 2006.

Since 1933, for over a century, Fang has held more than 70 solo and group exhibitions. Signature solo exhibitions include A Tribute to Fang Zhaoling, Ink Society, Hong Kong, 2024; Painting Her Way: The Ink Art of Fang Zhaoling, Asia Society Hong Kong, 2017; Paintings by Fang Zhaoling: A Century Exhibition, Ashmolean Museum, UK, 2014; Dr. Fang Zhaoling's Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition, Zhejiang West Lake Art Museum, China, 2006; Fang Zhaoling: A Life in Painting, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA, 2005; An Ode to Earth and Life: The World of Fang Zhaoling, Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, Japan, 2000. Important group exhibitions in recent years include Canton Modern: Art & Visual Culture 1900s-1970s, M+, Hong Kong, 2025; Women in Art: Hong Kong, Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, UK, 2019.

Alisan Fine Arts has been representing Fang since the 1990s. In 2012 we held a solo exhibition Fang Zhaoling: Vigorous and Fresh Chinese Ink Painting for her and has included her work in numerous group exhibitions.

Her work is present in numerous important collections, including the British Museum; Victoria & Albert Museum; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; Shanghai Art Museum; Hong Kong Museum of Art; M+, Hong Kong; University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong. Her works have also been featured in many publications and monographs.