Exhibition narrates the life of celebrated Chinese artist

In the early 1900s, a teenage boy boarded a ship heading to Southeast Asia, among crowds of people hoping to earn a living there. Born in poverty in Hainan province, the boy named Fu Luofei (1897-1971) struggled for a living and took various jobs, including shop assistant, cook, blacksmith, sailor and rubber factory worker. At the time, he could not anticipate that years later, he would become the first Chinese artist to exhibit work at the Venice Biennale.

Fu's journey from an impoverished laborer to a celebrated artist is not a tale of overnight success, but one of perseverance and personal growth forged through hardship. Rooted in humanistic values and a profound sense of patriotism, he devoted his art to giving voice to his country and its people in times of suffering.

The course of Fu's life, with its twists and turns, is vividly depicted at The Shape of Content: Fu Luofei's Realist Painting and Wartime Art in China, an exhibition at the Taikang Art Museum in Beijing running until July 5. While telling the story of Fu's life and career, it also reflects 20th-century society in China.

Using ink paintings, sketches, caricatures and oil works, Fu spoke for refugees in war and exile, satirized social loneliness, and expressed profound feelings for his homeland. His works are described as "making one tremble, indignant, and at the same time, letting one see a beautiful rainbow amid the somber tones".

The exhibition also sheds light on the Renjian Art Society, an artists' group active in the 1940s. In 1946, Fu was elected the society's first chairperson in Hong Kong. It gathered together celebrated artists of the time such as Zhang Guangyu, Ye Qianyu, Pang Xunqin and Huang Yongyu who advocated against oppression and injustice. Therefore, the exhibition not only presents original works and archival materials, but also focuses on the arduous journey and artistic ideals of a group of like-minded people, and the resilient growth of realist art that continues to move audiences today.