Tang Chenghua has had his endeavoring twenty years in the study and creation of art, which comes up as a long list including comprehensive academic education in realistic painting in China, concentrating in the art of printmaking during the study in Japan, adventuring in New York and being totally absorbed in modern experimental art, and teaching in the Central Academy of Fine Arts at present. Through comprehensive investigation into the art history of both the oriental and the European and researching on the theoretical principles behind the making and the essence of art, his horizon has broadened and knowledge accumulated.He is a hardworking artist and the same time a thoughtful one. Experiences gained from long-term practices in art, and especially in printmaking, have made him coming into realization of the importance of craftsmanship. By total personal involvement in the production, including the selection of appropriate tools and materials, hatching up the ideas, and process of making, Chenghua experiences the joy of creation. When observing from this angel, it is fait to say that he is an excellent ‘craftsman’ and proud of being one. Over the years, his techniques have been continuously improving, especially in mastering that of printmaking. He has fully manipulated the possibilities of the materials used and displayed the versatility of the manual production to provide his work a great sense of expression. And it notable that his is far from satisfied about this, as he understands that the creation of art has to be brought to a higher level which requires both hard labor and the ability to comprehend life and art. It is a state that is entirely free from the deceptive appearances of the objective world and the restraint of particular painting materials; one could gallop in the world of one’s imagination and creativity, expressing outer and inner emotions. Chenghua is rather fond of the art of printmaking; as the techniques involved in engraving and printing tend create certain predictability and unpredictability simultaneously, which often made him positively surprised and ensured him the infinite possibilities of printmaking. Never the less, while searching and treasure-hunting in the art world, he has come to realize that both sides of the coin, maintaining and guarding the purity of printmaking and expanding its boundary, are seemingly paradoxical but together the breaking point of creativity for modern artist. He is fully aware of the fact that only by sustaining and guarding the individuality of printmaking, this form of art could continue in existence; and by attempting to break down the boundary of traditional printmaking and make discovery in a broader domain, an artist specialized in printmaking would quite possibly lead to result the development of this form of art, especially when the urge for creation and the passion for discovery are burning within the artist.In recent years, Chenghua often gets himself ‘agitated’, and at the same time excited by this passion and urge to create. In Beijing, Kyoto, Khlone and modern cities as such, he has witnessed the fast-track lifestyle people have, material gratification enjoyed, and spiritual hazard faced with. He was greatly inspired and sparkled by the richness and versatility of modern culture; and as the result of that he felt a singular printmaking technique was not adequate to express his feelings. And he decided on the employment of multi-medium – hard cardboard paper of canvas covered with soft traditional Chinese handmade paper (Xuanzhi), mixing engraving and printing techniques of printmaking, drawing, smudging and painting of oil or acrylic, with depicting, chapping, dotting, washing-down of traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. And these attempts resulted in the effects that obtained both the quality of aggressiveness and sensitivity. What appears in the picture plane is metaphorical, is forms and dots that do not embody anything of the realistic world. The lines and surfaces seemingly made intentional and unintentional matching hinting objects of the real world but with no particular direction towards them. It is his purpose to employ the factors of painting and expressive ability of multi-medium art to provide the viewers with inspirational and emotionally charged experience. In the exhibition, each individual piece of these paintings is connected cleverly by Chenghua as an installation, creating an even larger art space. A variety of wood trunks obtained from deconstruction of traditional old houses were made into solid structure and held by floor white and soft as the clouds, creating a strange sense of contrast. And the contrast was even magnified with the large paintings on the all, making an artistic ‘atmosphere’ in real. Chenghua named this exhibition he planned ‘Clouds at the end of the sky’, giving justification to the ideas and thoughts that have been wandering around in his mind for a long period of time. That is, artistic creations ought to be in the free space of imaginations to spread its wings. Needless to say, in order to produce these works of art, many factors are required, including conception, rational thinking, hard labor, and most necessarily craftsmanship. I recalled him telling me passionately how he went in person to the countryside to select the wood trunks from deconstruction of old buildings and how the trunks were sawed, smoothed, engraved, and colored by him. He put personally emotions and wisdom into craftsmanship, and created the paintings, the installation and the exhibition full-heartedly.‘Clouds at the end of sky’ finally made its appearance to the viewers in Chenghua’s total excitement; and this is a sign suggesting that his art has arrived in a new stage. He expects viewers to appreciate and to criticize, for he knows that there is still a long way ahead of him in the perpetual search of art. He would attempt and strive to work harder, to meditate and to meet with new possibilities. And he would definitely produce works that are purer and more exciting in the future.