Fang is the first comprehensive publication dedicated to the trajectory of the Sino-Brazilian artist Chen Kong Fang (1931–2012), whose pictorial practice developed in São Paulo over more than five decades. Conceived in the context of Chen Kong Fang – O refúgio, presented at Instituto Tomie Ohtake in 2024 as part of the Diásporas asiáticas program, the volume gathers over one hundred works—including oil paintings and sumi-e—and emphasizes the dialogue between tradition and experimentation, figuration and abstraction that defines the artist’s practice. The book is organized and features essays by Paulo Miyada and Yudi Rafael, curators of the exhibition, along with contributions by guest authors Tiange Yang, Xiaoyu Weng, and Caroline Ricca Lee, and a chronology by Catalina Bergues.
The essays gathered in the book explore different facets of Fang’s work. Paulo Miyada examines the artist’s “thresholds” between territories, genres, colors, and historical periods, highlighting the experimental practice that bridges tradition and modernity. Yudi Rafael focuses on the “compositions of refuge,” particularly the still lifes, tracing the construction of Fang’s diasporic path and the influence of mentors and cultural references from both East and West. Tiange Yang discusses the alternative course Fang’s life and art might have taken had he remained in China, showing how migration enabled the creation of a modernist style that is introspective and spiritual. Xiaoyu Weng emphasizes the fusion between Chinese tradition and personal sensibility, framing Fang’s oeuvre as both transcultural and contemplative. Finally, Caroline Ricca Lee highlights how Fang transforms everyday life into poetic mirages—infused with memory, chaos, and imperfect inheritances—revealing a pursuit of belonging, reparation, and the continuity of familial and cultural legacies.
Edited by Instituto Tomie Ohtake with the support of Gomide&Co and Almeida & Dale galleries, which represent the artist’s estate, the publication reflects the institution’s commitment to amplifying trajectories too often overlooked within Brazilian art history. On the occasion of the book launch, taking place at Instituto Tomie Ohtake on November 1 (Saturday), the publication will be available at a special pre-launch price: from R$ 180 to R$ 160.
