ChongYang: Heavy Punch
Long Space is hosting the first solo exhibition Chongyang: Heavy Punch, marking the first concentrated presentation of artist Luan Chongyang’s (born 1990) paintings from the past decade. The exhibition features approximately 30 works, including oil paintings on canvas, wood panels, and drawings on paper, divided into two main themes: the boxing gym and local features.
Luan Chongyang's artistic practice began with depicting familiar local spaces, such as train stations, docks, construction sites, and courtyards. The tone of the city where he lives, Zhengzhou, is reflected in the color palette of these works—gray, earthy yellow, and brown—while large areas of dry, dull green defy easy interpretation as plant life. In Central China, rows of gray urban buildings rising from the ground align with local customs and lifestyle patterns, shaping the rules that govern daily life. These internal laws are mirrored in Chongyang’s compositions, where the rectangular structure serves as the stabilizing element in the painting, and also as a metaphor for his inner home. Within this structure, the artist places various short, strip-shaped "small objects", which can be people, animals, boats, and container cars, among others. These works, representing the theme of "local features," are displayed on the third floor of Long Space.
▲栾重阳，《刮墙》2022，纸本综合，36×51 厘米，©栾重阳
▲栾重阳，《码头》2019，布面油画，60×80 厘米，©栾重阳
The second floor of Long Space showcases more recent works. Moving from large-scale regional rectangular formats to smaller ones representing the boxing gym, the most noticeable elements are the boxing ring, the walls, cabinets, and posters or photos on the gym's interior walls. Chongyang uses these elements to create another small world he loves, shaped by his passion for boxing. There are certainly many works about boxing in the art world, but few persons are both boxers and artists who paint boxing subjects, like Chongyang. In this series, he depicts not the intense boxing matches, but the gym itself—a familiar environment for him. In contrast to famous boxing works by American artist George Bellows (1882-1925), whose boxing scenes focus on the fights, Chongyang’s paintings of the boxing gym are intimate and approachable. Using the same method he applied to depicting regional characteristics, he arranges boxers and training equipment in small, rectangular forms within the frame.
▲栾重阳，《拳击》，2025，布面油画，40 x 60 厘米，©栾重阳
▲栾重阳，《拳馆》，2025，板上油画，50 x 60 厘米，©栾重阳
▲栾重阳，《无题》，2023，纸本综合材料，30 x 40 厘米装裱尺寸，©栾重阳
在重阳以前的访谈中，曾提及他的艺术受贺兰山岩画的影响，这多多少少反映在他画作的造型上。他的平面化构图，人物和物件被勾勒在其中。就犹如先人把动物或人形刻在巨大山体的岩石中，在大自然中那些岩画图形是如此的渺小，但刻线简练和形象直插人心。这种对客体的感悟渐渐内化融入重阳的画面，而不是生硬地照搬岩画的风格。他也曾喜爱西班牙画家安东尼·塔皮埃斯(Antoni Tàpies, 1923-2012)和法国画家亨利·卢梭(Henri Julien Félix Rousseau、1844-1910)的作品。以上两位画家生于不同的时代，画风也完全不同，但他们在画面都倾向于平面化的处理，重阳在此得到了启发。若不是他提及影响他绘画的因素，我们很难在他的作品中找到这些前人的痕迹。这种对认识的内化方式，造就了重阳驾驭画面轻松自如的能力，并形成了他作品的结构和风格。
▲ 栾重阳，《练拳少年》，2023，纸本综合材料，36 x 51 厘米，©栾重阳
“Heavy Punchis merely the title of this exhibition, which does not reflect Chongyang's usual approach to people or his paintings. However, in the realms of art or boxing, Chongyang faces challenges head-on and delivers a strong punch when necessary.
Exhibition｜Guangzhou LongSpace
2025.10.11-12.17