HONG KONG.- The Glossiness of Uncarved Jade - Solo Exhibition of Cui Ruzhuo [III], presented by Lotus Arts Group, in association with Poly Auction, is held at Hong Kong Arts Centre from today to 11th August. The exhibition showcases the organisation, synopsis and display of the painter’s creations and painting explorations over the past few years. It will not only facilitate exchanges and discussions between artists, but also offers an exceptional chance for more Hong Kong and Asian art-lovers to experience Cui’s unique erudite flavour and brushwork touches.

This exhibition features original ink paintings and calligraphy created by Mr. Cui Ruzhuo since 2011. Most of the works were completed in Beijing. Mr. Cui Ruzhuo follows the painting approaches of masters like Shi Tao, Zhu Da, Wu Changshuo and Fu Baoshi in the early period of his works. Mr. Cui began his painting career since an early age and has been painting ever since. These works were created during the most fruitful periods of his career, reflecting Mr. Cui’s sophisticated skills and creativity.

Autumn Lotus, the emblematic painting of the Lotus series, is also displayed in this exhibition. A few sprays of flourishing lotuses can be seen just beside the rocks. Dignified and unyielding, the image of the lotus in Cui’s work additionally presents its blossoming vivacity, where the flowers are embellished with several lotus leaves formed by ink smudges. The masterpiece emanates both noble character and an imposing splendor.

Mr. Cui’s landscape paintings have a preference for snow sceneries, especially which include the scenes of mountains and rivers. He favours painting snow scenes, such as both large and small snowfall, after snow, snow in the sun, thawing snow, even melting snow or drunken snow which only occur in literatures. All of these sceneries come to life in his paintings. Mr. Cui is proficient in painting the vivacity of lives using the scene of snow. In the paintings Spring is Coming, The Bridge is Covered by Snow and Plum Blossom All over the Mountain are the significant paintings of such qualities. There are always dots of red plums in the plain background, bringing vivacity to the painting. The magnificent splendor exuded through the implicit brushwork obscures the frigidness in the extensive snow scene.

This exhibition also features several small art pieces which are equally lively and fantastically magnificent despite their smaller sizes. The brushwork of the landscape paintings is plain, where the images are formed by delicate ink patches with only slight colour variations. It offers a rich, simplicity-based aesthetic value. Mr. Cui is proficient in using “thick-ink” and “break-ink” techniques, creating a boundless ambience through soft, intermingling patches of varying strengths.

Starting to learn calligraphy at a very young age and being an apprentice of Mr. Li Kushan, Cui has a calligraphy style which follows the styles of Zheng Songxian, a calligraphist of the Stele School. In the arena of calligraphy, Cui’s calligraphic style is robust and strong due to his affiliation with the Stele School. His style is also overwhelmed with an ancient essence, and presents considerable strengths despite its apparent simplicity. Through a combination of his calligraphy and painting quintessence, a strong sense of space, and the Chinese notion of “oneness of heaven and humanity”, Cui’s works shine with distinctive artistic values.

The Founder of Lotus Arts Group Mr. Ke Xun says, “Mr. Cui has extraordinary artistic accomplishment. He is a reputed contemporary artist. Through this exhibition, we display the fine works by Mr. Cui from the past few years and we hope to provide a platform for cultural exchange and artistic research, thus promoting traditional Chinese art.”

The Executive Director of Poly Auction Mr. Zhao Xu states, “Mr. Cui is a renowned contemporary artist. He has a unique sense of style and his achievement in the art field is outstanding. He is a highly influential master painter and his paintings are paramount in the development of contemporary ink painting. This exhibition will bring a distinguished artistic experience to local and overseas art-lovers.

Cui Ruzhuo’s artworks have been awarded achievement awards numerous times. His works are well acclaimed in both Chinese and overseas art market. Art auctions from east and west accord serious attention and values to his arts.