HongBo

Shanghai / 中文

HongBo

April 10, 2012

An inspirational artisan approach to a modern life, we speak to this landmark Chinese painter

Text by Satellite Voices

Guest Feature by Menmenmen

An honest, optimistic and inspirational painter in a world where the traditional feels like it may be slipping away, HongBo is a man who forever sees the world as a painting. He create relentlessly - "to put thoughts on canvas."

Satellite Voices: Can you introduce your new collection?
HongBo: In the collection, it showed that human beings are no more than some simple, tiny, creatures of humble origin, filled with simple desires and uncertain feelings. Solitude, hesitation, confusion, loss, maybe hope...

SV: When did you start this collection?
HongBo: From the year of 2009, I had it tough during the course of creating.

SV: Why?
HongBo: Continuous doubts and interferences. Outside stimulations, you know, the vanity fair and other factors, with the final work unknown.

SV: Do you have a Conception of the whole works when you start?
HongBo: I didn’t think when I started. Just created. It was the feeling of spaciness which I followed, driving my paint brush. There were often several obscure images in my mind. I always had a feeling that the painting was not painted by myself and could not be completed until it stood by itself and could be independent of me. The final work could be totally different from the first concept, there were many changes of directions during the work. I would stop and wait and I believe that the time will fill in the blanks before I completed the canvas. Thus, the process in the middle of the work is just like the different choices in our life.

SV:What can you expect from the paintings?
HongBo: Peace and joy.

SV: Does living in Shanghai bring inspiration?
HongBo: Living in Shanghai merges together some opposition and a conflicting emotional state. Sincere, hypocrisy, cowardly, pride, envy and kindness, all of these surprisingly exist, that’s a really interesting thing.