I recently reached out to Chinese artist Sheng Dongqiao to propose a joint exhibition of our work to appear in China and America. Mr. Sheng paints work similar to the historic models that have inspired my work since 2006. He creates magnificent landscape paintings using traditional Chinese methods.

My colleague Berlin Fang, who works in ACU’s Center for Teaching and Learning and grew up in China, first introduced me to Mr. Sheng’s art. He also assisted me by translating my correspondence with Mr. Sheng.

The Response

Sheng Donqiao responded enthusiastically to the idea of exhibiting our works together. And he said some very kind things about my work and the sensitivity of my response to Chinese art. He advised me that, “According to Chinese tradition, we highlight the guest’s works first. So when the joint exhibit happens in China, [your] work will be the first part of the exhibit. If the exhibit happens in the US, my works will be the first part of the exhibit.”  Then, he surprised me by combining our paintings into a grid, which he posted to his social media. As you can see below, the works already speak to each other.

Mr. Sheng acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic will delay the process of having an exhibition in China. But we agreed to begin laying the groundwork in the weeks and months ahead.

Workshop for Students

Additional plans are underway for Mr. Sheng to conduct an online workshop/demonstration for ACU art and design students in the spring of 2022. This is an exciting opportunity for my students! They’ll learn approaches Chinese artists take toward pictorial composition and representation, and get to observe his amazing brush techniques.