The public is invited to a reception on Friday, June 26 from 5-7 p.m. for Chen Ying, a well-respected Chinese artist with an international reputation. She will be exhibiting her paintings at The Depot at Millard & Company, 22 Depot Street in Tryon.

Chen Ying is a member of the faculty of fine arts at Guangxi Normal University in Guilin, China.  She has shown her work in Thailand, Macau, Japan, Toronto, York, Canada, and Beijing.  She has an extensive list of awards and we are excited to present this marvelous opportunity to the community. Her teaching experience includes basic sketching, life drawing, traditional Chinese line figure painting, Chinese traditional realistic figure painting, and Chinese traditional realistic flower and bird painting.

In her own words:

“I have long been interested in the traditional figure painting in meticulous style and flowers and birds painting featuring the styles of Song Dynasty. In 1989 I got concentrated in flowers and birds paintings in meticulous style. At the same time I tried to learn from western painting and the other art forms. I also did lots of explorations based on the close contact with nature. In 1994, I accomplished a one-year post-graduate program in Guangzhou Art Institute.

My paintings Fragrance, Night Coolness, Sweet-smelling were published in the fifth edition of Art Gallery, the key art magazines in 1997, and in 1998, I have been invited as a visiting artist to work with Professor Bruce Parsons at York University in Canada for one year. I learned a lot from there. Chinese traditional painting has a long history; however Western painting has its strong artistic attraction. I look forward to having a chance to feel then and there the vibrating force of foreign ideas of art and enrich my own art language. And I hope to find a way towards a new combination of Chinese traditional painting and Western painting.”

Linda Hudgins, a local artist who lived in China for three years, made the acquaintance with Chen Ying and has been instrumental in facilitating this visit and has worked hard to make this happen. This will be a very special event especially since Chen Ying plans to prepare some authentic Chinese food to serve at the reception.

– Submitted by Michele Deudne