Lou Zhenggang (, pronounced "Lo Jeng Gong" in English, "Ro Sei Ko" in Japanese; born July 8, 1966 in Heilongjiang, China) is a prominent contemporary Chinese artist. Trained in calligraphy from an early age, she attained national fame as a child prodigy, was sent to a government-sponsored fine arts academy and trained by China's masters of calligraphy and ink painting. She won numerous competitions and exhibited both at home and abroad. At the age of 20, Lou moved to Japan, where she soon had several highly acclaimed exhibitions, wrote illustrated columns for prominent local magazines and was featured regularly on a national television program for three years. Though Lou's work is best known in China and Japan, it has been shown in Paris and New York and is held in numerous collections, both public and private. She continues to live and work in Tokyo. Overview: Life and work A summary of Lou's life and work according to an affiliate of the Chinese government states in part: "Lou Zhenggang took up the brush when she was only three. By 12, she had won nationwide recognition as a child prodigy. Her career in art seemed an unending succession of prizes and accolades... Today she is a master of her arts - painting and calligraphy - and seasoned by a maturity in which she has found peace and contentment... Lou Zhenggang's works are in high demand in Japan and United States, whether they be her calligraphy or her painting. Her brush works are prized as gifts from the government of China to visiting dignitaries. Her works are collected and exhibited in over eighty prestigious venues around the globe, including China's Palace Museum, and the United Nations Headquarters. It's well over twenty years, since she was celebrated as an exceptionally gifted prodigy. Today she is among the most influential of Eastern brush artists." Art Because Lou was extensively trained in classical Chinese calligraphy, expressions of that tradition formed the initial basis of her art. Even at this time, here style was distinctive: "Lou Zhenggang's earliest works earned praise from senior critics especially for their masculinity and grandeur, qualities seldom found in a female artist." As she entered her twenties, she began to develop a more personal style. Indeed, observers who cannot read Chinese can see in these early works a progression from a strong, formal, masculine style to a more fluid and relaxed approach.