Following the inaugural exhibition Art in the Heart of Perseverance in 2023, PIFO Gallery presents its second chapter, Art in the Heart of Perseverance II, on May 30. Bringing together seven artists — Du Xiaotong, Tan Jun, Yin Shuyu, Liao Yuan, Xu Hualing, Sun Hao and Yao Hao — the show features their latest creations spanning diverse artistic expressions: abstraction, mixed media, freehand flower-and-bird painting, and fine-line figure painting.
From the fervent debates over the reform of traditional Chinese painting in the early 20th century, to Li Xiaoshan's mid-1980s provocation that ink art had reached a dead end, and onward to successive explorations across New Literati Painting, Experimental Ink, Conceptual Ink and Abstract Ink — every evolution of ink art has been accompanied by wavering cultural identity and existential introspection.
The vitality of art lies in confronting the times and the self with unvarnished sincerity. This exhibition strives to move beyond the dichotomy of tradition versus modernity, focusing on how indigenous brush and ink aesthetics engage with the contemporary world.
No rigid criteria or predefined conclusions are imposed here. Instead, it presents seven artists' earnest explorations navigating tradition and modernity. Yin Shuyu carries forward the lineage of flower-and-bird painting, capturing contemporary people's spiritual rapport with nature. Du Xiaotong employs deliberate blank spaces to mirror the solitude and contemplation of modern life. Tan Jun reinterprets classical traditions with acute sensibility, articulating the complexities of individual existence. Liao Yuan weaves Eastern philosophy into mixed media, crafting a visual realm of restraint and mystique. Xu Hualing employs the meticulous fine-line brushwork to translate the subtle nuances of modern female sentiment. Sun Hao breaks the thematic boundaries of classical ink art, expanding its expressive potential for the present age. Yao Hao's large-scale monochromatic works delve into the interplay of emptiness and substance through minimalist aesthetics.
Seven practitioners, seven distinct paths, yet converging on one truth: ink art has never needed salvation. It thrives and evolves naturally within passionate artistic souls.
Where perseverance dwells, art endures.
Art in the Heart of Perseverance Ⅱ: A Group Exhibition of Contemporary Ink Artists in China
Artists：
Du Xiaotong, Tan Jun, Yin Shuyu, Liao Yuan, Xu Hualing, Sun Hao, Yao Hao
Duration: May 30 - July 5, 2026
Venue: PIFO Gallery, B11, 798 Art Zone, Beijing
About the Artists
Du Xiaotong (b. 1972) was graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts. His ink practice evolved from early figurative painting to abstracted natural forms — sea, stone, bamboo. Working in minimal brushwork, layered washes, and expansive negative space, he constructs silent, contemplative planes that probe ink's temporal and spiritual dimensions. The Dao Ma Figures and Bamboo · Stone series distill philosophical inquiry into reduced form, extending the spiritual reach of ink abstraction. A leading voice in minimalist ink aesthetics.
Tan Jun (b. 1973) was graduated from Fine Arts Academy of Hunan Normal University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His practice is grounded in life as its central lens — ink and mixed media on handmade Yunlong paper, employing backing, collage, and torn paper to build a distinct visual language. Through sensitive natural imagery and everyday objects, he projects reflections on survival, time, and the meaning of existence. Quiet surfaces, charged beneath. Elegant, still, free. Key series: Fantansy of Images, Slight Object, Demi Paradise and East Mountain · Tong River. A significant practitioner in ink, constructing personal narrative through lived experience.
Yin Shuyu (b. 1974) was graduated from China Academy of Art and Central Academy of Fine Arts. Long devoted to xieyi flower-and-bird painting — sketch from life as foundation, brush and ink as backbone. Fluid brushwork, unadorned ink, generous white space — creating a realm where self and nature dissolve. Major works: Scent of Pine in Light Rain, Ink Plum, Boneless Flowers and Birds and Dreaming of Insect Song. A leading figure sustaining and revitalizing the living tradition of contemporary xieyi flower-and-bird painting.
Liao Yuan (b. 1974) works primarily in ink, fusing tea, mineral pigments, and locally sourced materials. Accumulated ink, reduction, and symbolic language — all in service of thinking through time, space, civilization, and cosmos. Visually mysterious, intellectually dense. Key series: River Map, All Things and Ennead. A sustained exploration at the intersection of classical lineage and contemporary thought.
Xu Hualing (b. 1975) was graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts. A core figure in contemporary gongbi figure painting. Her work takes the body, emotion, and identity as its territory — tight cropping, hazy light, layered silk color — rendering the contemporary urban woman. Her Fragrance and Outside the Window series established a new paradigm for gongbi: precise contours, muted color gradients — extending the expressive boundaries of gongbi figure painting — the inner life held just beneath the surface.
Sun Hao (b. 1980) was graduated from Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and Central Academy of Fine Arts. A defining voice in young ink painting, known for large-scale compositions executed with bold, unhesitating brushwork. National presence meets contemporary visual force. Mutual Relief, Eternity, Destined and Spreading — widely exhibited and awarded. One of the most representative ink artists of the post-80s generation.
Yao Hao (b. 1987) was graduated from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. Early work narrated personal growth and memory in spare ink. Recent practice has evolved — muted tones, ink and white space in tension — exploring the link between individual experience and minimal expression. Key series: Night Tone, Youth and Laborers. A distinctive young ink painter, committed to figurative narrative and the inner landscape of the contemporary city.
