Biography of Au
Ho-Nien
Au Ho-Nien is
widely recognized as one of the world's foremost artists in Chinese
painting today. He is the Huagang Chair Professor of Art at the
University of Chinese Culture in Taipei. This is a prestigious position
and a most eminent accolade for an artist in Taiwan. Besides being a
master painter and calligrapher, he is also an accomplished seal carver,
a connoisseur of Chinese art, and a cultivated scholar of the Chinese
classics.
Born in
Guangdong Province in 1935, Au Ho-Nien became a student of Zhao
Shao-Ang, a renowned master of the "Lingnan School" of painting in 1952.
After almost half a century, Au is now himself one of the great masters
of this school of painting.
Among the
distinctive elements of Au Ho-nine's style is a skillful use of the
traditional principles of "broken ink" and "dry brush" harmonized with
the technique of water and pigment infusion. He likes to apply ink tones
and color washes directly while sparing the use of outline, thus
achieving an exciting effect which emphasizes dimension and distance.
In his
painting, Au Ho-Nien strives to bring forth the visual harmony of nature
by playing with delicate patterns and by balancing light and shade. His
painting possesses a special quality of liveliness, elegance, and
sublimity.
Au's
calligraphy is characterized by vigorous and forceful brush strokes and
is individual in style. His expertise in calligraphy has increased the
dexterity of his brushwork, enabling him to more easily reach his
artistic goals, fulfilling the philosophy of the Lingnan School: "taking
nature as teacher and relying on one's own intelligence".
