ART THAT REACHES OUTSIDE THE STUDIO

Young artist Peng Mingliang is having another solo exhibition. Huge posters of his work have already been set up on landmark buildings along the Huangpu River, visually convulsing for every passer-by. Once again, the artist as well as his work have taken center stage, attracting attention from both within and out of the artistic circle. Born in Shanghai, Peng Mingliang was also brought up in this city. Family education during his early years decided the path of his life. When Peng was 13, his father, though confined to a sickbed, taught the young child about world-renowned paintings by showing a collection of foreign post cards and art albums. It was not until then that Peng got to know the existence of art forms like oil palming and sculptures, something beyond the familiar posters on walls and comic books in hand. He dreamed about how great it would be to be able to paint. Despite a pitiful income, his mother bought him paper, brushes and colours. Peng was lucky that he learned about Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael when he was still a beginner in art. After his father's early death, his maternal grandfather started to teach him Western and Eastern art, telling him that being Chinese provides a naturally rich background, because the splendor of the 5,000-year Chinese civilization can be a study of a lifetime. His grandfather, who worked as a lifelong educator, became his first spectator and critic. Many years later, after Peng became a professional artist, he made the resolution of his life as follows."To construct the framework of ideals with strokes; to capture the tones of emotions with colours; to express the wisdom of life with light and shade; and to demonstrate the world I faces with my unique language of painting; happy or sad, wild or delicate, the brush will show my inner world to the world. This is my ultimate pursuit."Peng is chic. His chic is first reflected in his painting style. He received traditional art education in art schools, but his early exposure to various arts helped him form a unique understanding of painting techniques and ideas at a comparatively early age. Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Michelangelo, Zhu Da, the Yangzhou Eccentrics, and Wu Changshuo as well as the ancient Chinese grotto carvings and frescos have had a tremendous impact on the development of Peng's own art vocabulary. Later on, he traveled to Singapore, the city marked by a booming economy and cultural diversity. There, his exposure to the original works by Kandinsky and Picasso gave him wild inspiration. Also in Singapore, he attended the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and acquired advanced paining theories. After five year's hard work, he was accepted by the mainstream art circle in Singapore with a lot of new pieces. At that time, he opted to come back to China, as "painting for commercial purposes is not the ultimate goal of art" . In his studio in Shanghai's suburban district of Songjiang, he experienced the mutation of his style through years of study. He turned to focus more on the reflection of the ever-changing shapes and colours in nature. His strokes became simpler yet clearer, while the composition more illusory. In the end, he developed his own abstract style, which reflects the brightness and optimism of his artistic values.Peng is also chic in his way of communication. As early as 1986, he came up with the idea of a solo exhibition, which were only affordable to those well established painters. However, by using all his savings and getting support from his employer, Pang succeeded in putting up his first solo exhibition. The exhibition attracted many pre-eminent artists including Cheng Shifa, who wrote an introduction giving his seal of approval. In his critique, Cheng praised Peng's talent in the highest terms.In the spring of 2001, Peng succeeded in putting up his second solo exhibition, Transformation, at Shanghai's Xintiandi. Soon after that, his 13 canvases were selected for China's first special series of telephone cards featuring the art of oil painting, and appeared in a calendar for the year 2002. In the spring of 2003, Peng's next solo exhibition was held at the Shanghai Art Museum. In the ensuing two weeks, his works were posted on Fenglin Road, at the Orient Shopping Centre, the intersection of Huaihai Road and Gao an Road, on Hongji Square in Xujiahui, and on the neon boards on Shanghai Meteorological Office building. This variety of outdoor exhibition was hailed by ordinary Shanghai residents, the media and art critics alike, Shanghai, as an international metropolis, has always been a motivating force for Peng's artistic work. Now as Peng's art has reached outside his studio, his work is gaining increasing social eminence. It is this sort of exploring, healthy art that incorporates itself into society that Shanghai needs now.