Brief Introduction of
The Modern Chinese Ink Painting of Jiangsu Province, China
Since long, as one kind of the Chinese paintings,
Chinese ink painting has been taking up an important
place in the Chinese painting history with its unique
artistic tongue and has became the most significant
part of the Chinese painting arts.
More than 2000 years ago, the Chinese began to paint on silk
fabrics or paper with brush pen and ink. The Chinese ink
painting reached its maturity in the Song Dynasty
(the 10th century A.D.). Comparing to western paintings,
the approach of composition and aesthetic pursuit of
Chinese ink painting differs widely from those of western ones.
The traditional Chinese ink painting doesn’t stress the
importance of perspective and the close resemblance in
shape and color of the object, but attaches great importance
to the expression of the artistic conception and the subjective
interest of the painter. The Chinese ink painting values its artistic
function of contributing to people’s peace of mind by seeking poetic
atmosphere in paintings, most of which reflect the harmony between human and nature.
Consequently, Chinese ink painting belongs to the interior category from its form to its spirit,
it is a pursuit of consciousness and more over, it is an annotation of the thousands
years’ Chinese humanist spirit.
Located in the east part of China, Jinagsu Province does not cover a
large land geographically, but has long been a prominent place in terms of
culture and economy in the Chinese history. It was so called “a place of talents”
since ancient times. Numerous famous literates were conceived from her beautiful land.
It is the birthplace of a great deal of maestros and influential
painting schools of the ancient Chinese ink painting.
It established her status of the painting center in the Mid Age and
set up an artistic system with strict image meaning, style criterion
and technique standards. With inherit and development, changes took
place in modern Chinese ink painting creation both in its form and its spirit.
The selected works in display demonstrate the vivid and colorful creation of the contemporary Chinese ink painting of Jiangsu Province. Some convey the traditional Chinese aesthetic interest of depicting figures of traditional Chinese dramas, some borrow the western painting techniques and expressive approach of Expressionism, revealing the restless inner world of the people living in the contemporary society. Through these colorful works, viewers will learn about not only the modern Chinese ink painting but also the spiritual aspect of Chinese people nowadays.
There are 27 renowned painters with their 56 pieces of paintings involved in this exhibition, the oldest of whom is near 90 years old, while the rest are mostly young or in their mid ages. These well-established painters of Jinagsu are winners of a variety of national painting exhibitions or competitions. Their works mainly cover the themes of figure, landscape, flowers and birds and contain a variety of techniques of fine brushwork and free sketch-work. Many of them have been awarded important prizes in the fine arts works exhibitions both at the provincial and state levels and enjoy great honour. These works are the portrait of their creative styles and their artistic features. We believe that the people can realize its aesthetic interest and philosophical spirit it bears, through viewing the object reflected in the paintings.
As far as the cultural exchange between China and Italy is concerned, it certainly reminds us of the great Italian traveler Marco Polo who traveled to China in the Yuan Dynasty (the 13th century A.D.). He visited Jiangsu for many times and referred to the flourishing cities, abundant products and brisk business he witnessed there in his travel notes. As we Chinese all know, the drive of Renaissance which originated in Italy promoted the spiritual and cultural progress of Europe and the rest of the world as a whole. Last month, a selected collection of classic works from the Bellini Museum of Florence were just finished its exhibition in Jiangsu Province. The two peoples of Italy and China both admire each other’s splendid cultural civilization, and are curious to explore each other’s cultural tradition and geographic landscape. We are convinced that The Modern Chinese Ink Painting Exhibition of Jiangsu Province, China held in the hometown of great artist Leonardo da Vinci will surely attract Italian audiences by its uniqueness of oriental aesthetic interest. This exhibition is aimed to introduce the modern Chinese culture to Italy and we wish the friendship and exchange since the era of Marco Polo will continue to develop between the two countries.
Outstanding contemporary art from Jiangsu Province. Staged in association with the Department of Culture of Jiangsu Province and the Sino-Anglo Cultural Exchange Association.