Xu Hongfei

Xu Hongfei, born in 1963 in Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, was graduated from Department of Sculpture, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1990. He is currently president of Guangzhou Sculpture Academy and a national first-class artist. In recent years, he has developed a school of his own in Chinese sculpture circle by his “chubby women” series sculptures. He is good at applying multi-perspective and different materials to create “clubby women” with humor and changeful appearances. His works are bold, exaggerating and rational, and they are a sculpture comedy in “Laurel” and “Hardy” style as well as a kind of encouragement and praise for chubby people.

—Comments by famous artists —

“Xu Hongfei is familiar with the common principles for Chinese and Western sculptural arts” and adheres to the principle of block and plane model in space. At the same time, he is clearly aware that the national and traditional sculptures in China contain aesthetic pursuit that is imagery, freehand and abstractive, which is different from the West. The smart point for Xu Hongfei is that he does not separate both of them but combines them as a whole with his wisdom and talent to integrate the real structure model for human body into the freehand concepts.”

—Shao Dazhen (professor and doctoral supervisor of Central Academy of Fine Arts)

 “Xu Hongfei is a discoverer for the beauty of chubby women in contemporary era. He brings in a kind of new idea and atmosphere to the Chinese sculpture circle. He can always keep overturning himself, seek innovation, make changes and surprise us. His works are not highbrow art and literature but the artworks that are easily understood and favored by all and suit both refined and popular tastes…He is close to life and keeps being himself, and he is an artist who gets close to his essence.”

—Xu Qinsong (vice-chairman of Chinese Artists Association, president of Guangdong Painting Academy)

 “The keenness and smartness of Xu Hongfei lies in that he sees the crux of sculptural art in the past and finds the breakthrough ways that accord with his personality. He does not apply deep and obscure philosophy and awareness to “trick” the audience in his works. In forms and methods, he is rather concerned about the sense and mental experience of ordinary people. He applies exaggerating and relaxing tones to transfer emotion, feeling and desire in mundane life into a popularized aesthetic taste.”

—Liang Jiang (deputy curator of National Art Museum of China, vice president of China Academy of Arts)