Born in 1940 and a graduate of National Hualien University of Education, Hong Mei-Ling served as an elementary school teacher for more than ten years. In 1977 she attended western painting classes at National Academy of Arts. At first she never imagined taking those classes would result in the passion she found for painting. After graduating from National Academy of Arts, she resolved to give up her stable teacher's life and moved to California to study painting at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Having only received training in representative painting techniques and ways of thinking, Hong met severe challenges and doubts upon arriving in the U.S. Guided by the late-period Abstract Expressionism that was popular in the States at the time and challenged by cultural differences, Hong continually analyzed and deconstructed herself until she re-established her footing and brought forth the series Looking For Tao.

From 1983 to 2013 she completed one-hundred and thirty one paintings in the Looking For Tao series, which document her journey as a woman artist over the past thirteen years. Hong's startling new directions, tranquil solitude, disappointments, and self realization can all be seen among these many paintings tracking an artist's creative development.

*image (left)
Looking for Tao No.5, 1983
Oil on canvas, 162x122cm
© Hong Mei-Ling