Xue Liang is a landscape painter well versed in the techniques of traditional Chinese painting who has succeeded in creating a distinctive personal style that is completely contemporary. Characterised by a strong geometric symmetry and balance of composition, his minutely worked paintings take on a surrealist aspect as mountains, forests, lakes and cascading waterfalls are bathed in an eerie light and a huge, other-worldly sun hangs in the sky overhead. Natural organic forms are reduced and distilled into almost abstract shapes. Born in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province, in 1956, Xue Liang graduated from the Arts Department of the Nanjing Institute of Arts in 1982. He now works as a professional artist in Nanjing. Like the works of Sung Dynasty masters, Xue Liang's paintings have a rich density obtained by elaborate and detailed brush work used to build up the textures of the rocks and mountains. First outlining the main forms, he then creates inner strokes echoing the greater mass. Structurally, his paintings are often on different vertical levels like a traditional scroll, and he shows the same preoccupation with space, recession and volume. The introduction of architectural elements signifying a human presence also seems to express the ancient Chinese belief in the unity of man and nature in landscapes. However, Xue's skilful use of colour, together with his increasing trend towards abstraction and mastery of light and shade, gives these paintings an entirely modern appearance.