Homes by Wu Guanzhong

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy has named contemporary Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong as first among the country’s Top 10 modern ink painters of 2009.

The rankings of painters are based on their academic status, their social influence and the price and appreciation range of their works. The annual list is widely recognized by art investors and art critics from home and abroad.

As a leading master in modern Chinese painting, Wu’s works have been displayed in solo exhibitions in major art galleries and museums around the world, including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei, Korea, Britain and the USA

Double Swallow by Wu Guanzhong

For decades, Wu has been exploring ways of reconciling Chinese and Western traditions of painting. It has made Wu one of the few Chinese artists to have played an important role in the development of art in modern China, and to have established a reputation both in China and the West.

Wu began to be noticed for his work depicting the life of South China water villages such as Homes, Double Swallow（painted in 1981), and Riverside House (painted in 2000).

Born in 1919, Wu Guangzhong, also named Tu (his pen name), is a native of Yixing in Jiangsu province. Originally he was an engineering student. But after a visit to Hangzhou National Art College, Wu decided to pursue painting.