While “Chuiwan” an ancient Chinese game reminiscent of modern golf, enjoyed popularity among the royal court nearly a millennium ago, the Western world has largely dominated the contemporary game of golf. However, with China's economic reform and development over the past four decades, golf has rapidly gained traction, boasting nearly 400 courses across the country today.
As an early adopter, artist Hudson Shaoxia Zhang has been a fervent golf enthusiast for over three decades, alongside his influential roles as a professor of art history and a businessman.Since 2018, he has dedicated himself to capturing the landscapes of golf courses worldwide through drawing and painting, blending his twin passions of golf and art to create a distinctive and unparalleled body of work.
From Charles Lees' iconic painting "The Golfers" (1847) to Sir John Lavery's depictions of North Berwick Golf Course (1921-1922) and Andy Warhol's portrait of Jack Nicklaus (1978),artists have approached golf from diverse perspectives and mediums. Zhang, too, showcases this diversity in his portrayal of courses like China's Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club,California’s Cypress Point Club, and New Jersey’s Pine Valley Golf Club, either from personal experience or his imagination. Each course, with its unique features—putting greens, fairways,bunkers, position of the flagstick, water hazards, trees, and weather conditions—contributes to the dynamic nature of golf courses, which Zhang meticulously captures.
Influenced by the “shifting perspective” evident in traditional Chinese landscape paintings,Zhang's depictions of golf courses challenge the conventional "fixed perspective" typically found in Western art.
This exhibition presents 25 golf course landscape paintings by Zhang, spanning from 2020 to 2024. Through his unique perspectives and techniques, visitors are transported to renowned golf courses worldwide. As a professor of art history, Zhang's plein air scenes evoke historical landscape paintings, akin to the works of Corot and Hockney, who revisited similar subjects.Ultimately, Zhang's golf course landscapes are dreamscapes—vibrant, diverse, and painted with unwavering passion.
The Beveridge Hall, Senate House, University of London
13th June 6.30pm – 8.30pm | Opening Reception
