Hong Zhu An

Hong Zhu An’s body of work conveys a modern sensibility anchored in the richness of Chinese ink and paper history, reflecting his own uprooted life in this age of globalization. While his visual language can be traced back to Chinese philosophical tradition, Hong has effectively broken away from classical Chinese painting’s iconography throughout the course of his oeuvre.

The painter’s works on paper at STPI display significant new developments in his artistic exploration, where he engages with the visual and tactile qualities of paper like never before. Shedding paper-as-support-surface, Hong brought forth paper pulp as the medium with which to paint instead. The resulting paintings (consisting the added presence of saturated and layered pigment) demonstrate his ability to reconcile Chinese ink and paper traditions with new expressions, creating a strong international aesthetic that transcends history, geography, language and cultural barriers.

Trained at the Shanghai Art and Craft Institute, Hong has been a full time artist in Australia and Singapore since 1993. Based in Singapore now for over a decade, he has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the UOB Painting of the Year ‘Grand Award’. His works have been collected by major institutions such as the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum and the Singapore Art Museum.