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March 27, 2015

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Painter emerges from father’s shadow

SOME people in this world are born lucky — like Luo Dan, whose name is the Chinese transliteration of Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), the French sculptor famous for works such as “The Age of Bronze,” “The Thinker” and “The Kiss.”

His father, Luo Zhongli is an accomplished artist in his own right and the president of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts. The senior Luo rose to fame in the 1980s with a painting of an elderly peasant with a weather-beaten face. Titled “Father,” it is considered a milestone in modern Chinese art.

The young Luo knows life has been good to him and doesn’t try to hide it. “It’s true, my life has been quite smooth,” says the 30-year-old. “But that doesn’t mean my path in art has been smooth.”

Luo plays piano, violin and likes to sing. Music is a regular theme in his work, especially the rebelliousness of rock ’n’ roll.

His subjects sing and revel in music. From their facial expressions, viewers can almost feel their passion and hear the music.

Luo’s solo exhibition, titled “Beyond the Infinite: Recent Paintings by Luo Dan,” will be held at Longmen Art Projects from Sunday through the end of April.

The young artist says his paintings do not have a social message.

“I am not reflecting on history and social issues,” he says. “I only care about the existing world, the lifestyles of my peers.”

Using contrasting palettes and expressing the outbreak of passion, Luo’s paintings have gradually evolved toward themes of tradition colliding with modernity, or wildness clashing with stillness.

With his father also a famous artist, comparisons are inevitable, but, he says, ultimately unfair.

“I always face the same question, whether or not I feel the shadow of my father,” he says. “No, I don’t. We have different backgrounds. It would be meaningless to put us together.”

Born in Chongqing Municipality, Luo graduated from the Middle School attached to the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in 2000. He then studied at Kunsthochschule Kassel in Germany.

In 2004, he graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and then studied at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, UK. In 2007, he earned a postgraduate degree from the Oil Painting Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.

Asked whether his father has given him advice over the years, he responds with a shy smile.

“I try to hide my paintings from him as I feel a bit awkward,” he says. “I want to retain the purity in my art.”

 

Date: March 29-April 30,
10am-7pm

Address: Suite 102, Tian An Center Building, 338 Nanjing Rd W.




 

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