When Cen Long’s paintings were exhibited in three Italian cities in 2024, audiences witnessed not only the success of an artist but also the resurgence of a contemporary spirit. In a contemporary art scene dominated by concepts and fragmented language, his profoundly tranquil paintings remind us that “art can still return to the soul.” The light departing from Italy marks the starting point of his reappraisal within the context of European art history and signals the extension of his artistic journey: a path inward, toward the light, and toward the human heart.

Florence | Dante’s Purgatory: The Sublimation of Humanity

In Florence, Cen Long’s works form a striking counterpoint to the rational aesthetics of the Renaissance. While classical painting pursues proportion, order, and idealized human forms, Cen Long’s canvases reveal the dignity of humanity through imperfection. If the Renaissance sculpted the “ideal human,” Cen Long depicts the “honest human”: a soul that, even in hardship, still dares to lift its gaze toward the light.

His paintings resonate subtly with the “Purgatory” in Dante’s Divine Comedy. It is a realm where souls endure trials yet retain hope; repentance has passed, redemption is not yet granted, and everything remains in transition. The figures in Cen Long’s work occupy this liminal state—they have not reached the endpoint, but through the journey, they gradually learn understanding, compassion, and love. It is not an enlightened light, but an inner luminosity that seeps out slowly—silent yet steadfast, as real and natural as breathing itself.

For Cen Long, life itself is a “purification process.” Suffering is not the end, but a necessary path toward maturity. Each brushstroke acts as a honing of the soul, allowing the figures, after enduring time and trials, to retain gentleness and dignity. This is what makes his work most moving: within imperfect lives, humanity is distilled into light—not as an escape from reality, but as a profound understanding and sublimation.

Venice | Sowing Hope: Cen Long’s Sea and Humanity

In Venice, the air carries the scent of seawater, and the rhythm of the tides permeates the city walls and the steps of its people. When Cen Long’s works are exhibited here, this floating city seems to extend his canvases: a world where humans coexist with nature, seeking balance between fragility and grandeur.

In Cen Long’s paintings, the sea is more than a natural scene; it becomes an archetype of life itself. Sea Maiden Festival, The Windy Day, and Little Boat form the core chapters of his 2024 solo exhibition in Venice—three interrelated moments that depict the eternal struggle between humans and the sea, and the dialogue of the soul.

In Sea Maiden Festival, eight fisherwomen work together to push a massive wooden boat ashore, unfolding across the canvas like an epic scene. Each figure assumes a different posture, yet all exert their full strength—their backs taut, feet splashing through surging waves. This moment is more than labor; it is a ritual of “collective work” and “shared belief.” Cen Long conveys a message: “In the face of the boundless sea and the overwhelming force of nature, only through unity can humans withstand the challenge.” The light filtering through the clouds in the distance illuminates not only their resolute backs but also symbolizes the way home—a path guided by steadfast faith.

The Windy Day shifts the focus closer to two sailors, straining to pull ropes and raise sails. The rope connects not just ship and wind, but human beings to fate itself. Cen Long uses dense, textured brushwork to render the tension between the taut bodies and the mast as the visual core of the painting. Light is subdued to the extreme, and the background is composed in gray-blue tones, creating an almost abstract, profound space where the sound of wind and breath seems to merge. This is not a romantic scene, but an ancient allegory: even when the wind rises, one must strive to lift one’s own sails. This embodies the philosophy Cen Long has internalized throughout his life: amid the turbulent waves of existence, only sustained willpower and labor can navigate toward hope.

Little Boat shifts the mood to serenity. A lone woman rows, gazing into the distance as the sea lies calm beneath a gray-white sky. Her partially nude body carries no eroticism, but conveys a primordial strength. Her expression is tranquil, yet infused with resilience and determination. One cannot help but admire her lively, optimistic spirit and robust physique, as she transforms the hardships of navigation into a positive, empowering force.

Sowing Hope is more than the theme of the exhibition; it embodies a tenacious belief in survival. Hope is not a grace that falls by chance—it emerges from the ongoing struggle between humans and nature. Every rising wind, every ebb and flow of the tide, serves as a reminder of the moments in which we confront the natural world. It is the steadfast resilience of life that allows the possibility of hope to truly exist.

In Venice, a city nurtured by water, these three works serve as a renewed call to “human existence.” They belong not only to the laborers of the sea but to everyone who continues to struggle, who continues to seek the light. As viewers stand before the paintings, the figures seem to keep moving forward, pushing an unseen boat toward an unknown yet hopeful destination.

The exhibition coincided with the 770th anniversary of Marco Polo’s birth. Although there is no direct artistic or spiritual connection between Marco Polo and Cen Long, the parallel is intriguing: over seven centuries ago, Marco Polo set out from Venice to the East; today, Cen Long’s art travels from the East toward Venice. This coincidence sparked lively discussion locally, and as the curator, I felt a profound delight in witnessing this encounter that bridges time and space.

Bologna | Followers of Light: The Continuation of Faith

The Bologna exhibition centers on In Pursuit of Light (2021, oil on canvas, 200 × 240 cm). This monumental work does not depict a specific event; rather, it portrays a collective inner state: a group of people moving slowly forward toward a faint yet steadfast light emanating from the sky. The painting derives its power not from dramatic confrontation, but from the continuous act of “walking.” It is not the victory of arrival, but the perseverance of the journey. In Cen Long’s vocabulary, such walking itself embodies the shape of faith.

This work was created during the most difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Living in the initial epicenter of the outbreak, Cen Long endured months of lockdown and isolation, completing the painting in 2021. He juxtaposes individual solitude with collective companionship on the same canvas: each person contemplates in silence, yet all move together toward an irreplaceable destination. Here, light is not an external revelation; it is a faint brightness sustained collectively by the group—fragile, real, yet sufficient to uphold hope.

Bologna, known for its emphasis on thought and scholarship, provides a cultural context in which this painting becomes an ethical inquiry: in times of uncertainty, how do we walk alongside others while still choosing to trust one another?

Looking back at Cen Long’s creative trajectory, In Pursuit of Light continues his contemplation of the “collective soul.” The figures in his work do not belong to the clamor of the crowd; rather, they form a spiritual community composed of countless conscious individuals. Each person shines within their own solitude, ultimately creating a gentle yet steadfast constellation.

In Cen Long’s vision, the pursuit of light is not a Romantic slogan but an ethical posture—a courage to move forward despite the fragility of reality. In Pursuit of Light is therefore more than the title of a work; it is a declaration of humanity: in the act of walking, we find one another; in the faint glow, we affirm that we are still alive.

Extension and the Future: From Italy to the World

From Florence’s Purgatory to Venice’s Sowing Hope, and finally to Bologna’s Followers of Light, this Italian journey forms a complete spiritual map: from the sublimation of humanity, to the emergence of faith, and onward to the eternity of the soul. These three exhibitions are not isolated events; together, they resemble a “trilogy of life.”

In Europe, Cen Long’s work is not seen as “Eastern painting” but is read as “painting imbued with Western philosophical thought”; it touches the soul, responds to the times, and resists nihilism. This spirituality creates a deep resonance with European artistic and intellectual traditions. His work also asks: when faith wanes and truth becomes unclear, how can one still confront existence honestly? In this sense, Cen Long’s painting embodies an “ethical gaze”: an understanding of others, empathy for suffering, and respect for life. The light in his work is not religious revelation but an ontological stance—an insistence on love and hope within the limits of life.

Contemporary art often becomes trapped in conceptual austerity and linguistic distance, yet Cen Long’s paintings remind us that art can still heal, awaken, and evoke love—and within that love, offer the hope necessary to continue living.

In the future, I will continue to advance Cen Long’s major exhibitions and publication projects, bringing his work into more museums and public collections. I will also collaborate with curators and scholars to study the spirituality in his art and the fusion of Eastern and Western thought. This is not merely promotion—it is a cultural dialogue, returning painting to the core of human spirit. I believe that the light departing from Italy will not only extend to exhibitions and publications across Europe, America, and Asia, but will also symbolize a cultural resurgence, allowing painting once again to serve as a means for humanity to understand itself and the world.