Art exhibition promotes traditional Chinese culture in Silicon Valley

An art exhibition that fuses traditional Chinese ink painting and Western abstract style is being held to help promote Chinese culture in Silicon Valley.

The exhibition, A Refined Pair: Lotus and Plum Blossom, is on view at the Silicon Valley Asia Art Center in Santa Clara, California, till Jan 5 next year.

The exhibition presents 12 lotus paintings from Hou Beiren, 103, one of California's most famous traditional Chinese artists, and 20 paintings of plum blossoms by Susan Chan, a student of Hou.

"The lotus and plum blossom are both elegant and noble in Chinese culture. They are two major subjects in Chinese art history and have always been favored by overseas Chinese artists," said Shu Jianhua, curator of Silicon Valley Asia Art Center, on Monday.

The lotus paintings reflect Hou's nostalgia for his native home.

"There was a lotus pond in front of my old house. In summer, when lotus blooms, the fragrance wafted miles away. It's been lost for 70 years and my dream is vaguely shown on the tip of my brush," said Hou.

Born in 1917 in Liaoning province, Northeast China, Hou moved to the US in 1956. He has taught art at the Pacific Art League, a non-profit art organization in Palo Alto, California, for more than 50 years since 1957.

Unlike conventional Chinese practice of using ink washes only, Hou started applying bold colors on top of the ink washes and established his own unique style after more than 30 years of exploration, said Shu.

Under the influence of Chinese art master Zhang Daqian, Hou is known for his "splash ink and color" style, which fuses the traditional Chinese ink painting with Western abstract and expressive styles, Shu said.

Inspired by Hou, Chan focused on splash-color plum blossom and developed her own style.

"Her splash ink and color plum blossom boldly breaks through traditional barriers, using inks to present the branches and splash color to illustrate the flowers," said Shu.