Fang, who works in both opaque and transparent water colors, is one of China\'s most beloved artists. His works have been influenced by the picturesque villages of his rural Guangdong Province. His colorful paintings capture the daily life of these verdant villages- the honey-colored wooden homes looking out through lattice windows on lotus enveloped streams; vibrant wisteria climbing ceramic-tiled roofs; and his signature white cats and roosters playing within this menagerie.

 

 

A prodigy of the Chinese art world, Fang Xiang (born 1967 in Shantou, China) was well-known throughout his homeland at a relatively young age. A graduate of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Fang had several of his pieces included in major exhibitions in Canada and Singapore and was selected to participate in the renowned National Exhibition of Traditional Chinese Painting in 1990.

 

 

In 1994, Fang was appointed as one of the few permanent artists-in-residence at the Guangdong Fine Arts Academy — one of China\'s leading centers of traditional painting and was recently selected as one of "The Top Ten Artists in China" by China\'s prestigious Collector Magazine.

 

 

After sold-out exhibits in Hong Kong and Japan, Fang\'s works made a successful appearance in the U.S. in 1998. Chicago Magazine described his works "as being colorful, vibrant, exquisitely detailed, and unobtrusively populated by cats, birds, and chickens... this painted world inexorably attracts observers with its palpable serenity." Fang recently won the Silver Award in the prestigious 9th National Fine Arts Competition sponsored by the China Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Artists Association.