“The Powerful Influence of Art Surpasses the Physical Boundaries-- Research Exhibition of Ha Sa Lo’s Art,” sponsored by the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Guangxi Calligraphy and Painting Academy, Guilin Academy of Fine Arts, is scheduled to open on April 4, 2025 at the Art Museum of BJAA. Featuring more than 120 selected artistic works of Li Luogong (Pseudonym: Ha Sa Lo), the exhibition systematically presents his artistic journey of bridging the Eastern and Western cultures and harmonizing classical and modern elements. The exhibition composes of  four sections: early oil paintings, seal carvings on his artistic exchange, calligraphic works and latter-period oil paintings.  

Exploring the Western modern art
     
      Li Luogong embarked on the artistic journey in 1936 with his enrollment at Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts where he systematically studied modern painting. Then he went to Japan for further study of Western modern art, and creatively integrated the Eastern aesthetics into the expressionist painting language after returning back. Grounded in the profound legacy of Chinese traditional freehand brush work, he imaginatively transformed the Western oil painting forms and established a unique artistic style that combines international perspective and national ethos.

Impressive seal carvings
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      Li Luogong’s seal carving evolved through three important stages: in the early years, he studied under mentors Chen Zifen and Wang Geyi, laying a solid foundation in traditional techniques; after 1957, he focused on seal carving with support from Guo Moruo and Qian Shoutie, borrowing Qi Baishi’s single-cut technique in the initial period; from 1961, he delved into the large seal script (dazhuan), and established a unique aesthetic system by synthesizing strengths of masters like Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, Deng Sanmu, and Ning Fucheng, while incorporating the essence of Eastern and Western arts. He perfectly combined the bold expressiveness of Chinese traditional seal carving with the modern compositional principles, and created a new realm of seal carving art, developing a unique style featuring both ancient primitivity and modern dynamism.

Innovative cursive seal script

       Starting calligraphic exploration in his childhood under the family tutelage, Li Luogong learned calligraphy and seal carving simultaneously at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts during his youth, immersing himself in seal and clerical scripts under eminent mentors. He was obsessed with deciphering the formation of Chinese characters, absorbed essence of inscriptions on oracle bones and ancient bronze vessels, and deconstructed the laws of formation of Chinese character with modern aesthetic thinking. He blended the philosophies of historical masters including Bada Shanren, Shitao, Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi, creating a calligraphic style of “cursive seal script” that balances classical elegance of inscriptions on ancient bronze objects and modern sensibility, and pushing the traditional calligraphy into a new territory of expression.

Camel’s Trail by Lijiang River

       When the flood in 1977 damaged over 100 canvases he had created, Li  threw the remaining to the fire, and ended his painting career with five landscapes sketched by the Lijiang River. Tuozong (Camel’s Trail) symbolizes his perseverance. As he said, “I’m painting in mind all the time.” The true art exists not in any physical carriers, but in the enduring spiritual essence. Li’s life and works are a profound interpretation of the essential pursuit of art that is beyond physical carriers, leaving eternal meditation on the vitality of art for future generations.

     “The powerful influence of art surpasses the physical boundaries, and a square inch holds the cosmos,” such was art master Li Keran’s praise to Li Luogong’s seal carving craftsmanship. Amidst the transformative tides of Chinese art in the 20th century, Li Luogong, cherishing the pioneering spirit, carved out a distinctive artistic path at the crossroad of tradition and modernity. His journey portrays not merely an individual artist’s pursuit, but crystallizes the creative ethos of a generation of Chinese artists, who took root in cultural heritage and boldly redefined artistic frontiers despite the turbulent times.

        The exhibition will be on display through May 11, 2025. Art enthusiasts are warmly invited to visit and appreciate the works.