"Beyond the Pale" Painting

As an artist FengLing epitomizes the radical, pioneering spirit that endeavors to encourage us to imagine the future while simultaneously slowing us down to critically rethink our present with calmness at the center of each of her creations. Her reliance on line and convergence as critical components of image, her exploration of color – especially soft-hued colors placed near one another – and the meticulous, textured surface all speak to Feng Ling’s many hours of exploration that have led to her being a mature internationally recognized artist. These combined elements demonstrate that she is comfortable with the language of abstraction while conveying a level of calm and transcendence to her collectors and viewers. ......Stephen Volenec, Curator...... ARTIST STATEMENT: When I enter the studio, I am like an innocent child wanting to play and am excited about my unlimited possibilities. My everything is about creation and is about all that I am .... it completely fills me with imagination and permeates my reason to live my creative life. I am bursting with excitement by my process of laying down paints, inks and found objects with the tools of my trade and I savor the experimentation of my wanderings in, around and through my painted canvases. When I first approach a canvas, the experiences fill my body.....I feel a renewed love for my work that is filled with excitement and anticipation. I usually interplay new ideas and marks on the canvas with layers that secretly hide earlier work. Searching, groping, reaching for new communications to hide the secrets of my past attempts to share my story. Even as the impulsiveness of a new idea takes hold I am thoughtful and measured in my work. During the promising process of sketching and preparing my materials, I nurture and assess each unique step of the path for their subtle interactions. Within my work runs a thread of exploration that brings to life the meanings of the complexities of our human nature along with the mysteries and enigmas of life -- with a hope of opening doors of perception that will reflect some meanings back to us. As an artist, my path is most clear when I take chances and am willing to fail. My first mark on a canvas embraces my chosen journey that often travels along a long and difficult pathway to the unknown. But adventure greets and beckons me so that with each step that I take I am ever closer to reaching my destination. ………..