Quietly redefining the ink tradition

Although dressed in ancient clothing, the happiness, sorrow, anger and perplexity of her figures lead people to think of similar, modern situations.

"In her paintings, stories take place everywhere: by a window, in a corridor, on the top of a roof, in courtyard, a pavilion, a tower," says Cui Cancan, curator of Peng's solo exhibition currently on at the Changsha Museum of Art in Changsha, Hunan province. "In these stories, she is building a city for women, with a totally new social order." The show, Seven Days, runs until March 30.

Peng says she used to reject the narrative method in her work.

"I believed that as long as I had impeccable technique, I could paint whatever I wanted. I believed that technique would stand the test of time, and I didn't need to entice the audience to my work by telling stories, that people would be attracted to my paintings," she says.

Her transformation took place around 2017, when new experiences and changes to her life motivated her to share.

"I had experiences that were complicated and that raised questions, which I found difficult to answer in a simple, straightforward way."

The narrative details she saw in murals in Dunhuang, Gansu province, and frescos in Italy also opened up her mind to the power of narrative paintings.

"A good painting is like a literary masterpiece, a fine, hand-knit rug in a variety of sophisticated patterns," she says.

"It is like when you read Dream of the Red Chamber, for example. No matter which chapter you begin with, or through whatever perspective you look at it, it is a brilliant piece every time."