Ma Xi Guang
BORN: 1932
HOMETOWN: SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA
Ma Xi Guang was born in the Shanxi province of China in 1932, though his ancestral home was in Yan Tai, Shandong. He is now a member of The Artists’ Association of China; Vice-Chairman of Qinghai Sub-Association of The Artists’ Association of China; advisor to Xi’ning Academy of Art; member of the Standing Committee of the Political Consultative Conference of Qinghai Province; and excellent expert of Qinghai Province. He moved to Shenzhen in 1992.
Ma creates art using Chinese ink, often featuring the interaction between people and animals such as horses, cows, and the ox in an antique and oriental setting. He paints the animals collectively in black ink using brushstrokes with a swift manner to indicate their quick movements. In contrast, he paints the subjects donning bright, complementary coloured clothing in clearer lines and features to accentuate them. He plays with negative spaces by only drawing these two subjects of people and animals while forgoing any intricate background detail to emphasize their presence painted on the rice paper.