Born in Hebei, Shi Hu studied at the Beijing Arts and Crafts College and the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts. He taught at the Beijing Arts Crafts College from 1968 to 1969. In 1977, Shi was employed as an art director at the People’s Fine Art Publishing House in Beijing. He made an extensive tour to Africa in 1978 and was inspired by the brilliant colours of the exotic cultures and wildlife. The influence of African art can be prominently observed in Shi’s aesthetic expressions, and also led to the creation of the artist’s famous African Sketches. Shi then undertook a serious study in western art, especially Modernism and Abstractionism. He is skilled in painting figures and animals with strong and unique configurations. He uses a boneless technique to create strong contrast of bright colour tones and his brushstrokes are also bold and strong. Shi was incited to the United States as visiting scholar and later settled in Macau. From 1989 onwards, Shi has held exhibitions in the United States of America, Canada, and Singapore, and was appointed as Director of the International Chinese Artists Association in Macau in 1996. In 2004, a solo exhibition of Shi Hu was held at the National Arts Museum which later was held in other Asian countries.
BIOGRAPHY
1942 Born in Xushui, Hebei Province, China
1958 Attended Beijing Arts and Crafts School
1960 Attended Zhejiang Fine Arts Institute
1962 Served as a soldier
1968 Taught at Beijing Arts and Crafts School
1969 Worked in the crafts field as an ivory carver and lacquer polisher
1977 Employed as art director at the People’s Fine Arts Publishing House in Beijing, China
1978 Toured thirteen countries in Africa
1979 Published African sketches
1980 Became a professional artist
1985 Selected Paintings of Shi Hu published by Shanxi People’s Publishing House, China
1988 Selected Paintings of Shi Hu published by Tianjin Yang Liu Qing Painting Society, China
1994 Established Shi Hu Poetry Society”
1996 Published essays “Discussion of Character and Thoughts”, “Character and Pictograph” and “Spiritual Awakening” Appointed Chairman of the Society of Chinese Artists Worldwide “Solo Exhibition of Shi Hu” organized by Cultural Bureau of Macau
1998 Published Four-volume catalogue “Paintings by Shi Hu” by People’s Fine Arts Publishing House
2004 Published catalogue”Paintings of Chinese Modern Artists: Shi Hu”
2006 Published book “One Hundred of Poems and Paintings”
2013 Published book “Cloud of Words: Art Critics by Shi Hu” and the catalogue “Calligraphy and Paintings by Shi HHu”
2023 Passed away at the age of 81
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013
- Solo exhibition with around 1000 paintings, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2005
- Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
2004
- National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
- New life-Shi Hu 2004 Painting Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2003
- Solo Exhibition, Macau
2000
- Paintings by Shi Hu, University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
1997, 98, 99
- China Art Expo, Shanghai, China
1996
- Solo Exhibition of Shi Hu, Cultural Affairs Bureau, Macau
1995
- China Art Expo, Beijing, China
1994
- China Art Expo, Guangzhou, China
1992
- Ordained – Shi Hu, Singapore; Beijing, China; Taipei, Taiwan; Macau
- Unity – Shi Hu, Jakarta, Indonesia
1991
- Lou Lim Lok Garden, Macau
1990
- Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Singapore
1987
- Ji Gu Zhai, Hong Kong
1982
- Nanjing Museum, China
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
- Invitation Exhibition of Creative Calligraphy in China, Eastern Creative Calligraphy Institute, Shenzhen, China
2014
1993
- Tresors d’Art, Singapore
- Exhibited a monumental work Dreams on Earth, China Art Expo, Guangzhou, China
1988
- Contemporary Chinese Paintings, Krannert Art Museum of University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Honolulu, Hawaii; Madison; Wisconsin, USA
- Art Asia, Hong Kong
- Art Miami, USA
1987
- Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Shi Hu’s painting has the magnanimous tamperament, and he explores the modernity for the Chinese painting in the history of fine arts. Shi Hu becomes the guide artist of Chinese painting because he is infatuated with Chinese culture and understands the foreign sects in 1980s-1990s, and consciously undertakes the responsibility for Chinese art. He looks for the tamperamental expression of Chinese painting with ink language and explores the expression pattern for the Chinese nation. That is because he absorbed the global creative idea; employed the ink language of Chinese painting; took use of pattern expression of westen oil painting; selectively drew lessons from Pollock’s abstract splashing expressionism and De Kooning’s black& ink abstraction with oriental calligraphic style; he took his root among national tradition.
He believes in “the true essence of Chinese art should be found among the people”: “the hanging painting” in childhood, granny’s paper-cut, women’s shoe pattern, pedlar who selling silk yarn……all those become the live sources for his creation. He sticks to depicting the abstracted picture by using simple language similar to children’s painting, so the picture has the simplely romantic & vigorous tamperament. That tamperament subjugates the global audience by the fascination of “turning simplicity into vigour”, and reflects the Taoist philosophy. Not to mention the simply shaping element and the artifice of oil painting from the West, only the ink and lines interweaving visibly & invisibly are all stamped with flavour of Chinese culture, so it is clear that his art language is bred to traditional culture.
Shi Hu is deeply rooted among tradition, but he is not conservative; on the contrary, he is a pioneer of innovation, after years of research on traditional art, he clearly understands the disadvantages of Chinese painting, such as: not valuing colour seriously, but the crimson landscape, flower & bird painting are the lucky “exceptions”. That’s because the rice paper can’t bear multiple colours, but his years of test breaks through the limits of rice paper, and mkes colour expression more vigorous. He draws not only ink painting of figure, but also the bright colour painting, so Shi Hu is an industrious explorer.
It is not “random” innovation in the ink of Chinese painting, Shi Hu has his own view. He thinks that the ink has the aesthetic perception and spirit. The Chinese brush is difficult to show the strength, so the reinforcement of ink is to expand means of expression and preserve its spirit. The strong point of Chinese fine arts is the line, what the Chinese artists to do is to create a new set of means of line and to develop it into a systematic language, thus the Chinese painting will survive. When reading his calligraphic works, the spectators will be moved by the fascinating lines of Chinese brush. His calligraphy is unique, it seems eccentric, but in fact, the spectators can find the trail of assimilating these official script, inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty and tablet inscriptions of the Northern Dynasties, it is truely traditional calligraphy.
Shi Hu shows great initiative not only in painting, but also in understanding the self-cultivation for artists. As an explorer, he calls on the Chinese artists to undertake the social responsibility. If an artist does not seek tamperamental expression of his nation, his works can’t be called “art”. After the thoughts trend of 1985, Shi Hu kept guard for his Chinese culture, and “sobered up” the artists who were lost in the the trend of importing, imitating and praising the Western theory. In 1990, Shi Hu has paid attention to Chinese poem, new field of Chinese culture, he pondered and “cognized” the Chinese character. He explores the art expression of Chinese character in: On Character Pattern, On Cognition Of Chinese Character. And in this way, he creates “Chart Of Abstruse Totem” “Chart Of Merry Age, Chart Of Dream, the paintings to show poetic realm & philosophical idea, and to show the cultivation of Chinese people. Chart Of Red Honesty created in 2004 is more profound.
Shi Hu creates freely in the vast realms of ink, oil painting, calligraphy and poem, “dominating” the bright coloured painting. He “makes use of occasionality and imagination, creates eccentric & pretty works……highlights culture by the illusive language ( by Shao Dazhen) ”. As he is globally renowned, his works set up a bridge for the global exchange and explores the way for Chinese painting to go into the world.
