Sam Cheng 鄭丹珊 Hong Kong

Overview
Sam Cheng 鄭丹珊

Sam Cheng is good at depicting still lifes, characters, and natural scenes. Her works express her inner feeling such as ambivalence and helplessness towards things that happened around, using sarcasm or symbolism imagery. With traditional fine brushwork painting skills, while she adds some modern elements and her sentimental emotions besides the meticulous technique to the paintings, the art pieces become rich of humanized. She is adept in using lines to outline stories and dying different gradations of ink and colors to present specific emotions. Her accomplished technique helps to knead a whole new language — calm and dignified ink together with rigid and soft lines, soaking in the tenderness of the world. 

 

鄭丹珊擅於描繪靜物、人物及自然景象，以諷剌或象徵的手法呈現出矛盾、無奈等情感，抒寫出對身邊事物的情感。利用傳統工整細密的工筆技巧，加入一些現代化的新原素以及個人多愁善感的情感，塑造出富人性化的現代水墨畫。用線勾勒出經遇過的事跡；用墨沉澱/分染出不同層次的感受；用色罩染了情感的釋放。三者揉合成為一個和諧的整體，產生一種墨氣沉着端莊，色澤恬淡幽靜，線條剛柔並濟的新語言，浸透著人間的柔情。線、墨、色使其紙張更富意境和感染力，朦朧迷離的氣氛，更別具意蘊。

Works
Biography
Sam Cheng 鄭丹珊

Sam Cheng - Artist

 

Painting the Age of Innocence Through Female Eyes

 

When one grows up, there always rises nostalgia for the age of youthful innocence. It is in later years that people come to realize how precious childhood is. But the theme of childhood in painting always exhibits a sense of straight-forwardness that can be too bold or wayward for a delicate, graceful painting style. But in Sam’s case, this tension is rather a chance than a challenge, a boast than a barrier. For us, the combination of an elegant style with lively imagination is itself a meaningful topic.

 

Sam Cheng is passionate about painting from a very young age. This passion is greatly furthered by her period of study in the Fine Arts Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. It must be out of her own personality that she has chosen Chinese painting, especially gongbi painting, as her medium of creation. And her growth was rapid. In university, she already was skilled at painting realistic items: mountains, rivers, human figures, flowers and animals – she captures their spirits and also gave them beautiful colours. Her accomplishment both as a highly skilled painter and a dedicated art pursuer enabled her to finish her higher education with First Class Honours.

 

Sam Cheng grew up in the countryside. Life there is very simple; however, the ever-changing scenery has endowed her with inexhaustible imagination and a pure mood for art creation. Her childhood items, such as carousel, oil lamp, toys, insects, kittens and wild flowers, are all found in her paintings, and by depicting these items she has built up own world full of imagination. She has even established her own unique sense of humour by painting ordinary items with wild imagination and careful composition. From these, we can directly see her subtle emotions.

 

The more than 20 paintings exhibited here are the result of her relentless hard work this year. The topics range from scenery, human figures, to fauna and flora, etc. There is a “ carousel series “ of works developed directly out of her imagination with carousels. The 3 paintings that place mountains and rivers into daily containers subtly embody a Buddhist teaching that every micro object can reflect the world. The two insect paintings are surrealist works loaded with implicit meanings that can only be decrypted upon close viewing. And the two paintings with kittens are realistic works that also brim with fun imagination.

 

Sam Cheng is the most outstanding student I have ever taught. She has excellent talent and a conscientious working style. I firmly believe in her potential in developing herself into a top artist.

 

Article written by Tong Kam Tang

Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 

 

EXHIBITIONS & AWARDS  展 覽 及 獎 項

 

2018 -

First Open Auction, Christie’s, Hong Kong 

First Open 拍賣展﹣佳士得藝廊，香港 

 

HOMMAGE Joint Exhibition, Sansiao Gallery, Hong Kong 

HOMMAGE 聯展 ﹣ Sansiao Gallery，香港

 

2017 -

The Passion of Discovery II, Grotto x CUHK Grads, Hong Kong 

伯樂與千里馬 ﹣嘉圖x 中文大學，香港

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Fine Art Asia, Yan Gallery, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre 

典雅藝博 2017 ﹣一畫廊，香港會議展覽中心

 

2016 -

Fine Art Asia, Yan Gallery, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre 

典雅藝博 2016 ﹣一畫廊，香港會議展覽中心

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2015 -

Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

首屆亞洲水墨藝博 ﹣香港會議展覽中心

 

Memories in Time: Ink and Colour Paintings Solo Exhibition by Cheng Tan Shan, Yan Gallery, Hong Kong

綽影墨意 ﹣鄭丹珊彩墨作品個展，一畫廊，香港

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2+2 Joint Exhibition, EC Gallery, Hong Kong

2+2 聯展，誠畫廊，香港

 

Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Affordable Art Fair, 香港會議展覽中心

 

2014 -

Hong Kong Women in Ink, Fine Art Asia 2014, Joint Exhibition Presented by Ink Society,Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

《香港新水墨女性》典雅藝博2014，水墨會展出，香港會議展覽中心

 

Fine Art Asia 2014, Joint Exhibition Presented by The Chinese University of Hong Kong,Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

典雅藝博2014，香港中文大學展出，香港會議展覽中心

 

2014 - Fresh Trend Joint Exhibition, Hong Kong City Hall

《躍動》出爐10周年藝術系畢業生聯展，香港大會堂低座展覽廳

 

We Don't Drink Water, CUHK BA Graduate Exhibition, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

《我們不喝水》中文大學藝術系本科生畢業展，香港中文大學

 

"Ke Nian", CUHK Undergraduate Exhibition, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

《恪念》中大藝術本科生作品展，香港中文大學

 

'Retreat From the Muse' – Joint Exhibition incorporated with Wing-Fung Yau and Kenny Kwan, Hui Gallery,

New Asia College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

《虛遊雲歸》鄭丹珊、關梓琳、邱榮豐三人聯展，香港中文大學許氏文化館

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Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Award in CUHK BA Graduate Exhibition

中國書畫創作獎

 

Culture Corner Art Academy Fine Arts Award in CUHK Undergraduate Exhibition

文苑藝術創作獎（中國繪畫）

 

Workshop incorporation with students in Taipei National University of the Arts

台北藝術大學交流展

 

2013 –

Ting Yen Yung Creative Award in CUHK Undergraduate Exhibition

丁衍庸創作獎

 

"Mo Lao", CUHK Undergraduate Exhibition, Ch'ien Mu Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

《墨絡》中文大學藝術系本科生作品展，香港中文大學錢穆圖書館

 

Joint Exhibition of First Year Student of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

香港中文大學藝術系一年級生聯展，香港中文大學

 

HKCC Outstanding Student Award Scholarships

設計系傑出學生獎學金

Publications