As one of the world’s oldest art form, with over three thousand years of continuous development, Chinese brush painting maintains an enduring global and contemporary appeal to practitioners and collectors. Virtuosity, the nuances of the brush, can only be attained by a life long commitment. Evelyne Zuercher Hadfield’s passionate love for the way of the Chinese brush began when she left Switzerland over 40 years ago to commence her engagement with the challenging art world of the Orient. During her 6 years stay in Taipei/ Taiwan and 20 years in Hong Kong, Evelyne took brush painting and calligraphy lessons from different teachers. She was particularly drawn to the contemporary works of the Lingnan School artists, who have created a refreshingly new style by incorporating into Chinese brush painting western aesthetics, such as the use of vibrant colours and perspectives and applying these to the traditional genre of bird and flower. The development of Evelyne’s artworks follow the way of the Chinese brush: delineating forms with lines, dots and surface treatment on xuan rice paper. Evelyne has successfully explored and utilised the unique properties of the Chinese brush painter’s tool box. By incorporating modern materials such as water soluble inks and synthetic colourants, she has evolved a contemporary style of her own. Her works show a combination of strong brush strokes, vibrant colours and surface treatment that exploits the absorbent and diffusive nature of the xuan paper. Her recent involvement with Chinese calligraphic art has added a new dimension to her work. She added print making and paper making to her range of skills, combining this with oriental subject and matter.

— ANDREW LO, President ‘Australian Chinese Painting Society’