Hou Beiren 侯北人

Hou Beiren was born in 1917 in Liaoning Province. A painter, scholar, author and poet who studied painting with Huang Binhong and Zheng Shiqiao, Hou Beiren’s art works embody the traditional Chinese literati spirit. Yet, Hou Beiren has adapted his style to today's contemporary world. Hou Beiren is considered one of China’s last living master literati artists. His poetry pays homage to literati artists and poets of Chinese history and redefines the ancient form of literati painting style.

While in China, Hou Beiren was already a prolific writer. When Hou Beiren left China in 1949 and moved to Hong Kong for seven years, in addition to his artistic pursuits, he became one of the active leaders in the development of Hong Kong’s modern Chinese literature movement. He published several books and many articles under the names Hou Beiren (侯北人), Duan Muqing (端木青) and Hou Haiyu (侯海域). Hong Kong is also significant historically as the city where Hou Beiren and Zhang Daqian began their decades-long conversation, discovery and individual style development of “splash color ink” in Chinese painting.

As a resident of California since 1956, Hou Beiren made many trips to Yosemite Valley and other local natural sites for inspiration. There, he began to incorporate new innovations such as “wild cursive” (狂草) brush strokes, contemporary abstract structures, and a vibrant, contemporary color pallet.

While in California, Hou Beiren also met Ansel Adams, America’s legendary nature photographer. The artists exchanged ideas about their respective mediums to express their mutual passion for Yosemite Valley and other local California landscapes.

A significant body of Hou Beiren’s art can be found in two museums in China dedicated to his works. In 2004, the City of Kunshan built the Hou Beiren Art Museum. In 2015, Hou Beiren’s home province of Liaoning opened the Hou Beiren and Zhang Yunqin (Hou Beiren’s wife) Pavilion at the Liaoning Provincial Museum.

Hou Beiren’s works have been collected by many international museums, including the Asian Art Museum and De Young Museum in San Francisco, the San Jose Museum of Art, National Art Museum of China, Nanjing Museum, Zhejiang Art Museum, and the Austria Museum of Modern Art among many others.