Symphonic Trees: Fan Dongwang

Strathfield Library & Innovation Hub

4 April – 25 May 2025

Fan Dongwang’s exhibition explores the notion of painting and drawing the ubiquitous Australian gum trees through the techniques of Chinese painting, calligraphy and Western abstract art. It is a visual melody of the important role played by the trees in our environment.

Humble, resilient and iconic, the Australian gum tree has been drowned under roiling floods, consumed in flames, fallen to the buzz of the miller's saw and slowly choked with thirst. Yet each year it endures. The trees spread back across the land, from scorching deserts to desolate mountains.

If you look closely, at Dongwang’s works, these trees become living things akin to human beings: their solemn trunks dance in the wind, their magnificent bodies transforming into awe inspiring human torsos.

OFFICIAL OPENING:

Thursday 3 April 2025, 6pm 

GUEST SPEAKER: 

Paul Howard, Curator and Collection Manager, Blacktown Arts 

Exhibition Overview (PDF, 176KB)
Q&A Fan Dongwang(PDF, 2MB)
Media Release (PDF, 143KB)

Watch now: Exhibition tour of Symphonic Trees: Fan Dongwang.