Born in 1967 in Northern China the artist name Ge (meaning revolution) was born during the height of the Cultural Revolution. Throughout Feng’s childhood an artistic direction was apparent for the youth and the need and love of drawing was constant. Soon delving into the world of photography, Feng had no dark room and so would print photographs from the darkness which lay beneath the artist’s bed.
Feng’s education stemmed from Xiamen College of Arts and crafts in Southern China, to which the artist studied at the age of sixteen in Traditional Chinese painting. After enduring a bicycle experiment, whereby Feng cycled the length of China, the lessons learnt was endurance, skill, patience, achievement and the belief in yourself that anything is possible, even the smallest of tasks and at the time Feng was still at the young age of nineteen which showed the strength in mind Feng possessed, way beyond the artist’s years. This incredible journey taught the valuable lessons needed for Feng’s further education which then saw the artist graduate highest in marks above other students in the class.
This personal gain led to the success of Feng’s work being awarded in ‘All China Genre Painting Exhibition’. The very same works were then included in the Chinese National Collection and exhibited in the Chinese National Arts and Crafts museum in Beijing.
Having lived in China and speaking no English, Feng took the bold leap and moved to England in which the only goal was to continue to sell art. Feng has since spent half of his life in China, the other half in England and loves to incorporate this experience into his works combining both Eastern and Western worlds. This brave move saw the artist have successful solo exhibitions throughout the UK as well teaching art workshops.
The artist is never without a camera and treats this like a personal sketch book, snapping shots constantly and then blowing their prints up to form the bases of the background of his graffiti subjects. The processes involved are to conjure up a character of subject matter, relocate to the background of location which the artist favours at the time, photographing that location and returning to enlarge their prints for the character’s background.
Creating and cutting stencils of his figures is a vital part of Feng’s practice and only when these are complete to the artist’s satisfaction, can the graffiti of various colours occur within the stencil. Layers are then built up and this forms the perfect unison for Feng’s brilliant creations.
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