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Huang Shaoqiang (Chinese: 黃少強; pinyin: Huáng Shǎo Qiáng ), born Huang Yishi was a Chinese artist of the Lingnan School.

Early life

Huang was born Huang Yishi (黃宜仕) in the Nanhai district of Foshan, Guangdong, in 1901. The descendent of a village official,(SOHA) he was exposed to famed works of art from youth, including works from Europe. He also created his own works, painting No One to Tell (无告人) in 1911 as he was processing the Xinhai Revolution.

In 1919, Huang travelled to Guangzhou to learn painting. He continued to Shanghai the following year, where he first studied under Gao Qifeng before apprenticing under Gao Jianfu. The Gao brothers, , were known as the founders of the Lingnan School of painting, which blended Western styles with traditional Chinese art. Huang thus learned to combine western approaches to modelling with traditional ink- and brushwork, though unlike his teachers Huang often depicted human figures. He later spent time studying under Liu Haisu at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts (now part of Shanghai University).

Huang began a tour of China in 1923, making stops in Guangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shanxi. He observed the experiences of the common people, later drawing on these observations for his depictions of such subjects. By 1926, he had returned to Nanhai, where he became the principal at the Dunmu Primary School and taught at several other local schools. With fellow Lingnan School painter Chao Shao-an, he established an art garden to teach painting to youths.

Artistic career

Two paintings by Huang, Dust on an Empty Bed (尘榻空留) and Self-Admiration in Despair (穷途自赏), were exhibited at the First National Art Exhibition in 1929; according to Ye Shuming of the Guangzhou-bazed e-zine Yangcheng.com, these were the only recent works exhibited therein. Following the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Huang contributed his Floods and Refugees (洪水图流民图) to the National Disaster Painting Exhibition (1932) in Guangzhou. He took first place in the exhibition, sold the work, and donated the proceeds to support the war effort. In 1934, he and several other artists organized another exhibition, with proceeds donated to support the fight against the Japanese.

In 1934, Huang held a solo exhibition, also in Guangzhou. In that city, he frequently met with fellow artists, including He Qiyuan, Zhao Shaoang, and Ye Shaobing. He also opened a small school and exhibition space at his home.

With the fall of Guangzhou in 1938, Huang fled to Hong Kong, where he organized more art exhibitions as fundraisers. When that city, too, fell to the Japanese, Huang returned to Guangzhou briefly before travelling to Foshan. There, he continued to paint, while also mentoring the young artist Pan He. He refused, however, to acquiesce to the Japanese. He was detained in 1942, and though released, he became sickly. Huang died on 7 September of that year.

Style and analysis

As his subjects, Huang often took everyday situations and people. Attested in his works include beggars, craftsmen, peasants, peddlers, street performers, and tea house servants. Consequently, Ye describes them as imbued with a humanitarian spirit, taking a critical realist approach to highlighting their suffering while condemning the excesses of luxury. Liu Haisu likewise used these works to highlight art's transformation from a media of the wealthy to something belonging to the masses. Some of his works, however, had religious themes, and several depict arhats (persons who have achieved nirvana) or the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin.

Gallery

• 解攬君已遠 (Xie Lanjun has Left, 1930)
• 長幼修正 (Correction of Youth, 1940)
• 農夫 (Peasant, 1941)

References

1. ^ Ye 2021.
2. Jiang 2020.

Works cited

• Jiang, Xinchen (November 26, 2020). "潘鹤：渔女之父的珠海情缘" [Pan He: The Father of the Fisherwoman and His Love for Zhuhai]. Southcn.com (in Chinese). China South Publishing & MediaGroup. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
• Ye, Shuming (16 August 2021). "为平民而画的岭南画家黄少强" [Huang Shaoqiang: A Lingnan Painter for the Common People]. Yangcheng.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2024.