White marble sculpture Overload by Tung Lung Hsu Photo: Courtesy of Tung Lung Hsu

Visiting Taiwan artist Tung Lung Hsu's latest exhibition at Beijing's 798 Art Zone, New Works of Tung Lung Hsu Solo Exhibition Tour 2014, you might be intrigued by the messages delivered in his sculptures and paintings. Most of the modern stone sculptures at the exhibition feature figures from Chinese traditional moral tales that exemplified loyalty, friendship and honesty, while his paintings look to combine traditional Chinese calligraphy with Western art styles.

"I have been looking to old stories and traditions for inspiration. These stories left a deep impression on me when I was young, especially right after I went to college," Hsu told the Global Times.

The 67-year-old artist has had a very successful career over the years, first starting as a young boy working at a ceramics factory and later moving on to jade carvings. His systematic art education later began in 1971 when he was accepted into National Taiwan Normal University. His well-known sculpting skills later won him a place in the 1985 Japanese NHK documentary, Touring the National Palace Museum.

Hsu explained how the traditional tales of heroes and immortals, such as Guan Yu from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the immortals from The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, that he heard from his parents and other adults in his small village took root in his sub-conscious.

 "But it wasn't until I was introduced to Western art history that I discovered that I needed to find something different. Although the core of my sculpting is still very traditional," he said.

"I think my interpretations are kind of like automatic writing," he said, explaining himself by grabbing a handful of mud and dropping it on the ground. "It doesn't have any shape at all now, but in my mind it will slowly change and form to become an object or sculpture of the Bodhisattva Guanyin."

The exhibition, which will also tour Shanghai's Pata Gallery after wrapping up in Beijing on September 18, not only features white marble sculptures, but also the artist's newest abstract paintings.

"Those who have viewed my previous Chinese paintings will be surprised by my new paintings.

"It is not difficult to see the shadow of sculpture in my paintings. I started my career as a sculptor and everything about my arts stems from that," he explained.