Painters display works awash in ink traditions
Updated: 2016-01-26 11:50
By Lin Qi(China Daily)
|
|||||||||
October, Clear River by Xu Guoliang is one of the ink paintings on display at the Beijing show, Where to Go.[Photo provided to China Daily] |
Shitao, a famous landscape painter during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), had said: "Ink and brushwork should keep pace with the times."
His words are relevant even today as generations of practitioners are seen pushing the boundaries of Chinese art to take it to a wider audience.
Where to Go, an ongoing exhibition at the Equivalence Fine Arts gallery in Beijing, has gathered 15 ink painters who communicate their thoughts on Shitao's ideas against the backdrop of a rapidly changing China.
The show's participants all studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in the 1990s. Their practice on xuanzhi (rice paper) presents a variety of ink-wash experiments.
Liang Yi, 53, from North China's Shanxi province, expresses a cynical view of social diseases.
He places nude women and luxury cars in settings of traditional Chinese landscapes or gardens. Liang adds a gold fish at the base of the paintings to imply material abundance.
Underlying the combination of these objects in his works, Liang satirizes distorted social values, especially the confusing standard of beauty, which is endorsed by many people.
Liu Yumei stresses the merging of East and West in her works.
The Frankfurt-based painter, who is in her 40s, does still-life oil paintings with a rich palette. But they encapsulate a temperament of ink painting.
She was trained in oil painting at the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in Northeast China's Shenyang city and later Chinese painting at Beijing's CAFA.
Liu has been living in Germany since 1999 as a professional painter.
One of her works captures busy vendors in a bazaar along the Main River in Germany. She produced the piece based on her visits to the flea markets on its banks. In her painting, Liu makes thick, free lines with brushstrokes and carves out sharp ones with oil painting scrapers, by which she is able to present a poetic essence of the East about a Western location.
Liu also teaches Chinese painting at a Frankfurt university. She recalls her students at first telling her that Chinese painting wasn't of as much value as oil painting.
- A glimpse of Spring Rush: little migrant birds on the way home
- Policy puts focus on genuine artistic students
- Police unravel market where babies are bought, sold as commodities
- More older pregnant women expected
- Netizen backlash 'ugly' Spring Festival Gala mascot
- China builds Mongolian language corpus
- 2 Chinese nationals killed, 1 injured in suspected bomb attack in Laos
- New York, Washington clean up after fatal blizzard
- 'Plane wreckage' found in Thailand fuels talk of missing Malaysian jet
- Washington shuts down govt, NY rebounds after blizzard
- 7 policemen, 3 civilians killed in Egypt's Giza blast
- Former US Marine held in Iran arrives home after swap
- Drone makers see soaring growth but dark clouds circle industry
- China's Zhang reaches Australian Open quarterfinals
- Spring Festival in the eyes of Chinese painters
- Cold snap brings joy and beauty to south China
- The making of China Daily's Tibetan-style English font
- First trains of Spring Festival travel depart around China
- Dough figurines of Monkey King welcome the New Year
- Ning Zetao, Liu Hong named China's athletes of the year
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
8 highlights about V-day Parade |
Glimpses of Tibet: Plateaus, people and faith |
Chinese entrepreneurs remain optimistic despite economic downfall |
50th anniversary of Tibet autonomous region |
Tianjin explosions: Deaths, destruction and bravery |
Cinemas enjoy strong first half |
Today's Top News
National Art Museum showing 400 puppets in new exhibition
Finest Chinese porcelains expected to fetch over $28 million
Monkey portraits by Chinese ink painting masters
Beijing's movie fans in for new experience
Obama to deliver final State of the Union speech
Shooting rampage at US social services agency leaves 14 dead
Chinese bargain hunters are changing the retail game
Chinese president arrives in Turkey for G20 summit
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |