Hong Fu left Beijing and arrived in Australia in 1990. In China, he was already an established artist and had a survey exhibition at the National Art Museum of China. Hong Fu said, “Australia gave me freedom of expression.” Since then, he has gained a reputation in Australia and internationally.

In 2021, the Art Gallery of NSW held Archie 100 to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the Archibald Prize. One hundred paintings were chosen from over 6000 works that had been submitted between 1921 and 2021. Hong Fu was the only Chinese-Australian artist included in this historical exhibition. In 2022, Hong Fu’s painting of fellow artist Peter Wegner made him a fourth-time finalist for the Archibald.

Fu’s artistic excellence extends to still life and landscape paintings that he mastered over the last thirty years. Sydney Morning Herald art critic John McDonald commented that “when it comes to sheer skill, I doubt anyone can match Hong Fu”. Still, Life features a new series of still-life flowers and figurative works. Hong Fu said, “COVID still continues, but life is full of hope. My painting is a search for hope, and I hope viewers experience this”.