Ren Hui

"Rome, " Pointillist Woodcut

2012

Artist and painter Ren Hui was born in Nanjing, China in 1957 and currently lives and works in Guangzhou, China. A self-described "low-profile person," he spent his early years enrolled in military service and working as a steel-cutter in the Nanjing Ocean Shipping Fitting Factory. A factory worker’s uniform fit him as poorly as a soldier’s, and in the mid 1980s, he embarked on a long journey across China, visually documenting the life he saw around him. When he returned from his trip, Hui stopped wandering and started painting. Developing a unique approach to pointillism, Ren Hui's paintings and woodcuts successfully convey three dimensional spaces within two dimensional paintings. He calls his art “uncomplicated and honest.” Hui celebrates simple subjects with a flourish of points, dots, marks — very pure and deliberate, highlighting the simple idea that it takes many to create a whole. Ren Hui’s subjects range from friends and f
amily to political figures. “My work reflects life,” he says, “We have family, friends, ourselves, history, culture, trees, flowers, buildings, demolition - all of which are reflected in my work. This is our life" Ai Weiwei - China’s famous artist, curator, and social commentator - compiled an exhibition of Ren Hui's work in 2006 for the China Art and Archives Warehouse in Beijing. This exhibition, along with others throughout the US, Europe, and Asia introduced Hui's incredible paintings to an international audience.