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Biography
Tong Zhengang was born in Xinjiang, China, in 1959. He studied at the China PLA Art Academy and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. His works were selected to be exhibited numerous times at the Moualot Lithoprint Factory and the Lithograph Museum in Paris. He also had solo exhibitions in the Barcelona Contemporary Museum of Art, Spain and in Hong Kong, and the American Embassy in Beijing. Tong expresses his feelings and understanding on the value and meaning of everyday life by depicting the female in the appearance of a portrait, or to place the female together with the male under the same environment, is to establish an interactive relationship between his personal view and the objective view of the male. In Tong’s works therefore is the attainment of an ultimate goal of artistic creation: freed of the issues of harmony in aesthetics, art is converted directly into the spirit of human life, and from that into art. The purpose of Tong’s works is a criticism to the change of the inner mind of people. His paintings show not only the difference in identity, but also criticize how people are differentiated by society.
A Corporal Metaphor of Reality In his oil painting series, Tong no longer adopts the grandiose manner but is interested in portraiture, a subject that shows the state of mind of human being. The focus of each portrait is on the female, or her intimate relationship with the male. Obviously, this kind of visual language directly reflects the painter’s vision on the female world. Female issues bring out the relationship between the two sexes and the various conditions of living. Tong’s “Bliss Series” fully demonstrate his understanding on reality that hidden in style and form. His oil painting depicts the female in the appearance of a portrait, or to place the female together with the male under the same environment, to establish an interactive relationship between his personal view and the objective view of the male. That is to say, the painter adopts the device from anthropology and contacts people of different sectors, just like a traveler. This is a survey in the sociology of art. Tong finds that succinct format is the best for group portrait as it perfectly fits the language of modern painting, an integration of the traditional and the modern, of the language and the context - it borrows traditional elements and absorbs the desire of “Voyeurism” in modern world. Tong’s works are linkage to the diversified society. Indeed, our visions are brought to the real social space and daily life through the painter’s perception. The meaning of Tong’s works is that the ultimate goal of artistic creation no longer lies on the issue of harmony in aesthetics, but to convert art directly into spirit of human life, and from that into art. From this the painter enters into the space of the daily life of the others and the society. Therefore, from these pictures, we can understand and interpret the relationship between the state of mind of human being, the space of daily life and social environment. Of course, Tong considers art as a direct media for expression, he believes that the ultimate question of art is on “human” itself, the passion, thought of human being. We can feel Tong’s sincere affection to the female in his art works. He states clearly that, “My mother is the one who I love the most in my life. My sisters who I love are female, my best lover is a female, too. I love the female for their innocence, fineness and softness, they may be ordinary yet are full of passion, they are full of hopes even corrupted. The female world represented through an art device looks like a vehicle which has summarized everything, it demonstrates the special quality of the female!” Through extrac
Huang Duo
In the series of painting, Tong Zhengang fully considers the issues of the female in Chinese consumption culture. He likes to show figures and environments that are familiar to him. For instances, female figure, portrait, object and the male. Comparing to his previous paintings, Tong’s “Bliss Series” manifest a stronger sense of modern art. He does not bind himself to traditional compositions, but, boldly, to borrow the lens effect in modern photography. This new device enables him to tackle the meaning of his works more effectively. Obviously, “Bliss Series” borrows the idea of quick shot effect from photography to capture the instant, and the works can depict and record the details of life accurately. Such method is a decisive factor to the causal and lively style of Tong’s paintings. Though Tong’s oil paintings maintain certain structures of Chinese ink painting, his works have already adopted a language different from the traditional. Women in Tong’s works look pretty and graceful, yet are sometimes in dullness or at leisure. Despite this, he does not attempt to depict the obsequiousness of the female, but through his personal and exaggerated manner in representing the female image, the male’s desire to control is reflected. In fact, some of his works do not depict any male images, but their absence or being excluded in a way suggests their presence and gaze, showing the painter’s criticism to the society.
Although Tong follows the aesthetic rules of traditional painting, his analysis and representation are based on his personal understanding. His brushworks manifest his experience and instinct, which is a reflection of the painting language and psychological state of human. Tong is not interested in the conventional artistic style, he rather selects the artistic devices from his own judgment and need. He does not handle concept and skill in a rational manner, but his sensation is the dominant in his painting due to the fact that rationality will lead to rigidity, but sensation can bring spontaneity, freedom and ingeniousness.
