Past Exhibitions
- The Eccentric Painter Su Renshan
- January 23, 2018 - February 18, 2018
Su Renshan (1814–50?), an artist based in Guangdong in the late Qing dynasty, was known for his idiosyncratic painting style. He failed his civil service examinations, feuded with his family, and seems to have been a committed loner. His paintings evoke fantastic, unique realms using powerful ink brushstrokes. The textual inscriptions on his artworks are often difficult to fathom, sometimes critical of Confucianism.
Although he received little recognition during his lifetime, Su Renshan's work later caught the eye of Japanese diplomat and art collector Suma Yakichirō (1892–1970), who was stationed in Guangdong during the 20th century. After Suma started actively collecting his work, Su Renshan's fantasy images attracted increasing attention. This exhibition introduces Su Renshan’s paintings of landscapes, figures, and birds and flowers from the collection of Suma Yakichirō.
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