In 2016, Ningshu Fang moved to Portland, a long way from Shanghai, and started running a small showroom on the waterfront. The winters were slow. In the quiet hours she started to paint.
Then people walked in, stopped at the paintings, and talked to her. About where she came from. About their own memories. In her words, the work became “a doorway for me to get into the American part of life.”
A modern take, with more color than tradition allows
She paints under the name Shanghai Dragonfly. The style is hers: Chinese tradition in the bones, brush and ink and symbol, and more vibrant, bolder color than the tradition usually permits. She describes the work as a meditative moment to reconnect with her cultural roots, and the love of it came from a grandmother who put a brush in her hand.
The centerpiece of her Portland featured gallery is called Shangri-La. “When I look at it,” she says, “it gives me a lot of peace and joy, thinking about home.”
A doorway for me to get into the American part of life.
The handoff
The featured gallery in Portland changes hands a few times a year, and the install is our favorite week in the building. Our crew was there while her work went up: the leveling, the second-guessing, the step back. That film is above. Watch the hands.
Her hallway closes this month. The next artist’s story is already on this page.
