Life of Many Colors
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Yu Feng, famous painter, fine arts critic and prose writer, passed
away at 91. She died on Sunday morning of cancer, her son Huang
Dawei said.
Having suffered from uterine and breast cancer, Yu had a surgery
to remove the tumors three weeks ago and fell into a coma.
To commemorate Yu’s achievements in art, the National Art Museum
of China will hold an exhibition of paintings of Yu and her husband
Huang Miaozi, 94, also a reputed artist. They got married in 1944
and became a “star couple” in China’s art circle. They have three
sons.
Yu, born in Beijing in 1916, developed her love for art under
the influence of her uncle, Yu Dafu (1896-1945), who was a famous
writer and pioneer of Chinese new literature.
First she learned oil painting in Beijing and then became a
student of Xu Beihong and Pan Yuliang, both prominent artists.
In the 1930s, she joined a national salvation movement against
Japan in Shanghai and worked as editor for revolutionary newspapers
and magazines.
In the 1940s, Yu devoted herself to prose writing, painting
exhibitions and editing for magazines in Chongqing and Nanjing.
After the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, she was in
charge of exhibitions in China Artists Association and National Art
Museum of China.
Since the 1980s, Yu directed her interest in wash painting and
held exhibitions overseas.
“Her simple and small-sized paintings are done in a free way,
displaying her profound humanistic feelings,” said renowned fine
arts connoisseur Shi Shuqing.
Despite her tremendous achievements in art, she said modestly:
“At most, I am an amateur painter as I spent most of my life in
doing other stuff,” Yu said in an article about her paintings years
ago.
“In painting, I don’t want to repeat others or myself. But I’d
like to learn some techniques from others which fit my style, no
matter they are master artists or little kids and no matter the
techniques are traditional or modern.
“Above all, art works should lead people into deep thoughts and
stimulate the most beautiful feeling from the bottom of their
hearts. Art’s life is completed and prolonged by audience’s strong
echo and reflection.”
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According to the museum, more than 80 paintings of Yu and 100 of
Huang will be displayed at the 12-day exhibition starting on April
27. Huang chose the paintings by himself. If health permits, Huang
will attend the show’s opening ceremony.
Yu’s strong mind and optimism impressed her family and friends
very much.
“Every time my mother had serious relapse, she joked that she
got yellow cards again,” her son told a newspaper in Shanghai.
Master cartoonist Ding Cong and his wife Shen Chong were Yu and
Huang’s long-time close friends.
“She was a happy granny and cared little for her illness,” Shen
said in an interview with China Daily. “Unbelievably, she even
travelled to Hunan immediately after an operation.”
“In our friends’ eyes, she was always like a middle school girl,
who was happy, adorable and passionate.”
“Once we joked that she could join Hunan’s Supergirl
competition. Seeing she thought it was really a good idea and might
have a try, we stopped kidding.”
“Although she has gone, yet our memory about her remains very
fresh and pleasant.”
Shen said there was really nothing to regret if a person could
lead such a colorful and meaningful life like Yu.
“She is talented, successful in career, happy with family,
healthy in most of her life, and most importantly very lovable
among friends.”
“It is a pity for me not to visit her in her final days. But
thinking she needed rest and wanted to keep her agreeable image
which might have been affected by painful treatment, I felt
relieved.”
Another of the couple’s friends Shao Yanxiang, a famous
essayist, said: “Yu was a charming person among friends and could
quickly become the center of attention at every parties.”
Also, Yu and Huang’s happy marriage of more than 60 years was
admired by many.
“They were a happy old couple, who were inseparable and often
showed up together.”
In fact, Shen revealed that Yu had the final say in their
family.
“Yu was active and outgoing while Huang preferred to stay at
home doing some reading and painting. But the two got along very
well.”
Li Hui, author of a book about the couple Keep smiling Huang
Miaozi and Yu Feng, said the two did share a lot of
similarities.
“Both of them are optimistic, kind and sincere. Both have
passion for art. Happy smile is their forever expression no matter
what happened to them.”
In addition to Yu’s outstanding painting and charming
personality, many people also love her essays that had been
published as books.
“Written in beautiful words, her essays are very emotional,”
Shen said.
“In her prose, we can feel her special style as an artist, who
was sensitive and pure-minded,” said Zhang Yiwu, a professor in
Peking University and a famous critic in literature
Yu’s son said his mother had wished for no ceremonies after her
death.
“We will present some of my mother’s paintings, photos and
manuscripts of her prose to our friends and relatives,” he
said.
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(China Daily April 20, 2007)
