NIE OU (BORN 1948)
Farm Girl
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
66 x 43.5 cm. (26 x 17 1/8 in.)
Inscribed, with one seal of the artist
Dated 1985

Specialist Note:
Nie Ou was born in Shenyang, Liaoning Province in 1948. In 1954, Nie Ou and her family moved to Beijing where she started painting lessons. When the Cultural Revolution erupted, Nie Ou, along with many of her schoolmates, was sent to Yanbei, a remote area on the northwestern plateau of Shanxi Province. In Yanbei, Nie Ou lived the life of the peasants, setting off for work at sunrise and turning in at sunset. Living and working in the field was strenuous but it was in this remote land far from the chaos of the capital that she found peace of mind and ultimately, her inspiration. Images of barren houses and snow covered country roads constitute most of the compositions. The tranquil performances of routine country activities - a child tickling the ear of her sleeping grandfather; a donkey watching fish swimming in the stream, a family working together in the fields - are her favoured subjects.
Children feature prominently in Nie Ou's paintings. They reflect not only her personal experiences but her visions
With spontaneous brushwork and occasional dots of colour the artist depicts images in their most elementary and untainted forms. Nie Ou's paintings have been exhibited extensively throughout China and Asia, as well as in Europe and the United States. Her paintings appear regularly at auction in Hong Kong. Works by Nie Ou have been placed in a wide array of internationally recognised private and public collections, most notably the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the British Museum.