Beautiful story-telling by art elite Zeng Daozong

Acted as a council member of the China Artists Association and vice chairman of the Qinghai Artists Association, Zeng Daozong is a prominent and versatile artist in contemporary China, whose representative works of Chinese colored ink-wash paintings have been presented in many national fine art exhibitions as well as overseas exhibitions in various countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Wang Shaoqiang, director of the Guangdong Museum of Art, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Zeng Daozong's “Artistic Elite: Chinese Colored Ink-wash Paintings by Zeng Daozong” on March 28 in Guangzhou. Photos by Li Weijie, Du Yue'er

Showcasing more than 100 pieces of Chinese colored ink-wash paintings, including thematic, figure and landscape works created by Zeng over more than 40 years since the 1970s, an exhibition entitled “Artistic Elite: Chinese Colored Ink-wash Paintings by Zeng Daozong” is now open at the Guangdong Museum of Art on Ersha Island, Guangzhou. 

Running from March 28 to April 12, the exhibition is composed of four units, “Spiritual Richness,” “Magnificent Landscapes,” “Beautiful Scenery” and “Biological Charm.” More than 10 pieces in the exhibition are part of the Guangdong Museum of Art’s collection.

Visitors photograph paintings by Zeng Daozong at the exhibition “Artistic Elite: Chinese Colored Ink-wash Paintings by Zeng Daozong” at the Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou.

Born in 1938 in Guangdong Province, Zeng studied at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts from 1957 to 1961, majoring in figure painting at the Department of Traditional Chinese Painting. He was one of the most accomplished and favored students of Professor Guan Shanyue and Li Xiongcai, two renowned masters of Chinese landscape painting in modern Chinese art history. Upon graduation in 1961, Zeng voluntarily moved to Qinghai Province in northwestern China, where he lived for 25 years. During this period, he worked as a professor in the Art Department of Qinghai Normal University, and was commissioned twice to create large-scale landscape paintings for the Great Hall of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

Deeply touched by the poetic pastoral life on the Qinghai plateau, Zeng created a large number of thematic paintings that narrate the colorful life of local Tibetan communities, such as horseback courtship, dancing on flower-filled pastures, and singing hand in hand in circles.Distinguished from many contemporary artists, he not only presents the plots of the fascinating stories clearly, but also organizes the figures and formal elements such as lines, shapes or colors into a visually pleasing composition. For instance, he employs rotational structures to suggest the merriment of herdsmen, or adopts stable triangular frameworks to convey relationships among family members. In this way, he innovatively integrates narrative and formal beauty, blending modern Western artistic influences with traditional Chinese painting techniques.

Zeng Daozong sketches during a field trip to the Qinling Mountains in north-central China. File photo

With a deep affection for local ethnic communities, Zeng has created many compelling figures in his artworks, such as horsemen, women, and children. These graceful and lively figures reflect a sense of peace and harmony in contemporary China.

In addition to thematic and figure painting, Zeng also creates numerous striking landscape works depicting the grandeur of plateaus, mountains, and rivers in northwestern China, using compositional approaches such as horizontal, diagonal, and zigzag structures. In portraying scenery in southern China, Zeng incorporates techniques from modern Western painting, applying rich yet elegant colors to depict flowers and lush vegetation.

As a versatile artist, Zeng is also skilled in portraying animals and plants, such as galloping horses, gentle sheep, brisk deer and robust cattle.

“Descendants of Yellow River” by Zeng Daozong.

One of his most representative works, “Descendants of Yellow River” created in 1979, is a remarkable masterpiece in the history of modern Chinese art. It tells a dreamlike story of love between a young couple in the Yellow River region. An engineer from a Yellow River construction team encounters a Tibetan woman, leading to marriage and the birth of their son. The artist arranges multiple figures into a visually compelling composition, demonstrating technical mastery while depicting towering mountains and a surging river in the background, thereby creating a dramatic and immersive atmosphere.

During the symposium of Zeng’s solo exhibition held last September, many leading fine art specialists in contemporary China agreed that Zeng’s paintings enjoy important academic value for art historical and theoretical research. They believe that Zeng’s masterpieces will offer many precious inspirations for contemporary and future artistic creation in China.

Dates: Through April 12 

Opening hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays (No admission after 4:30 p.m.) 

Venue: Guangdong Museum of Art, 38 Yanyu Road, Ersha Island, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州市越秀区二沙岛烟雨路38号广东美术馆）

Enquiries: (020) 87351468

More of Zeng Daozong's works on display:

Colored ink-wash painting “Morning on Grassland” created by Zeng Daozong in 1981.

Colored ink-wash painting “Shearing Sheep” by Zeng Daozong in 1984.

Colored ink-wash painting “Lady Tending Deer” by Zeng Daozong in 2013.

Colored ink-wash painting “Harvesting Day” by Zeng Daozong in 1979.

Colored ink-wash painting “Traveling on Wilderness” by Zeng Daozong in 2011.

Colored ink-wash painting “Spring on the Pasture” by Zeng Daozong in 2011.

Colored ink-wash painting “Deer in the Autumn Forest” by Zeng Daozong (year not mentioned).

(Wang Haiying: curator of the exhibition “Artistic Elite: Chinese Colored Ink-wash Paintings by Zeng Daozong” and researcher of Guangdong Museum of Art)