Monthly Archives: October 2020

"The processing of generalization and freehand realistic shape requires a strong image perception and precise control of the brush. Use it well, you can create freely as you wish. On the contrary, it is easy to fall into the trap of emptiness and conceptualization. But if you want to integrate the freehand brushwork spirit of Chinese painting into oil painting, you must have the courage to take this risk. Pei Yongmei launched her realistic and freehand artistic practice under such a risk. Whether in a bustling city or a character image in the frontier of Yunnan In the depiction, she showed unique courage and brilliant artistic talent."           

--Ma Lu

Double Time No. 1, oil on canvas, 2015

Chocolate No. 1, oil on canvas, 2012

Pei Yongmei is one of the emerging Chinese artists. She emphasizes on the thinking and practice of painting in the contemporary art concept and context, and pays attention to the current situation of the mixed society in the integration of global economy, culture and life. Her art reveals the special modernity triggered by the overlapping process of multiple cultures in the global financial crisis.     

--Zhang Qing

When the Line Becomes the Boundary No. 5, oil on canvas, 2018

Chocolate No. 7, oil on canvas, 2012

Chocolate No. 4, oil on canvas, 2012

Chocolate No. 6, oil on canvas, 2012

Double Time No. 7, oil on canvas, 2017

Green Velvet, oil on canvas, 2002

Pei Yongmei depicts contemporary Chinese cities with her rich brushstrokes and bright and strong colors: bars, shopping malls, for example. Even if the effect of the picture is deliberately blurred, her paintings can still accurately capture the salient features of things, and the crystal chandeliers or mobile elevators are appropriately embedded in the entire picture.

The shimmering surface was flooded with light. The "Ambilight" of the new shopping mall not only contrasts with the calm and simplicity before modernization, but also contrasts with the techniques and themes of traditional Chinese art in terms of painting style. Pei Yongmei seems to be challenging herself and painting. She and her paintings are exploring and advancing to see if they can overcome the hustle and bustle of contemporary urban life? If so, in what way?

 --Roger M. Buergel

Chocolate No. 3, oil on canvas, 2012

Night Blue, oil on canvas, 2011

Double Time No. 3, oil on canvas, 2015

Double Time No. 3, oil on canvas, 2015

A Desolate Place, oil on canvas, 1994

01 Composition

When an oil painting comes into the audience's eyes, the first thing they see is the overall layout and composition of the painting. As one of the most important forms of painting language, composition plays a key role in the success or failure of the work. The composition of a painting should conform to the aesthetic requirements and philosophical principles. While meeting the aesthetic needs of the audience, it also conveys a certain kind of thought. The audience can get different feelings of calm, stability, tilt, depression or surprise from different compositions.

                                                          Flawless, 35X150cm, acrylic on canvas

02 Content

Content is the information that a piece of work wants to express and convey, which is also the most direct way of communication between the appreciator and the painter. According to what the picture depicts, whether it is vivid or not, and what implied meaning the image should convey, it is easy to understand the painter's emotions.

"Leisure" Series, 60x80cm

03 Color

Because of the rich color of oil painting, it is called "symphony in painting". Therefore, the use of color in a good oil painting is just like a good song that can arouse the audience's resonance. It can bring people into a mysterious state where are filled with elegance, solemnity, depression, or excitement, etc.

Xanadu NO.3, 100X100cm, oil on canvas

04 Light

A good oil painting must have its own uniqueness in the use of light in the picture.

Frontier Fortress Scenery, 60X90cm, acrylic on canvas

05 Brushwork

The brushwork describes the painter's emotion and aesthetic preference, and can sharply show the aesthetic taste of different times. The artistic attainments of oil painters are embodied in the brushstrokes of oil paintings. This is a long-term accumulation and cultivation process, and it cannot be accomplished overnight.

Vast NO.3, 30X40cm, oil on canvas

06 Texture

When objects of the same color and different materials appear in the same picture, they are mainly distinguished by the material of the object. For the performance of materials, different painters have different processing methods and painting techniques.

Old Days,70X80cm, mixed media

Through the analysis and introduction of the above aspects, I believe that you have already had a certain foundation for the appreciation and evaluation of oil painting works. Of course, it is not easy to appreciate and judge the artistry and artistic value of oil paintings, which requires a lot of knowledge learning and accumulation.

The subject of "City Ink Painting" is an art carrier for the artists of Shenzhen and Hong Kong to focus, practice, explore and exchange together. "Ink Painting Two Cities, Hong Kong & Shenzhen" exhibition which has been successfully held nine sessions, has become a key project of cultural exchange between Shenzhen and Hong Kong and one of the permanent projects supported by the special fund for the development of publicity and cultural undertakings in Shenzhen. The exhibition has a profound impact on the art circles of both places and has contributed to the development of art and cultural exchange between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

This exhibition selected 70 works of 70 artists to participate in the exhibition by way of nomination and invitation. It focused on reflecting the contemporary urban feelings of ink painters in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, highlighted the diversified cultural characteristics and inclusive artistic scene of the two places, explored the contemporary concept of ink painting art, expanded the international vision of ink art, and show the artist's worldview, values, and thinking in the transformation of contemporary art from different angles.

Exhibition Spot

Appreciation of Some Works

                    We Should not be Afraid of the Dark Clouds Blocking Our View by Dong Xiaoming

                                          Signal Light Series by Liang Yu

                                                               Melting Point by Luo Wenguan

                                             Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone by Song Yuming

                                              Two Cities by Zhang Chuang

                                   One of the Mirror by Li Kang

                                                          Sunshine in the City by Hao Qiang

                                                      Macau Sketches in Series by Ma Shunxian

                                                                   Lotus Pond by Gao Wei

                                                                    Daylight by Fu Zhongqi

                                                             Giant Silkworm 2 by liu Zijian

                                            Night by Li Zhenfei

                                Green Leaves by Wang Shi

                          Exotic Impression by Chen Qionggui

                                                              The Walking City by Ren Sisi

                                                                Early Spring by Luo Suming

                                                       Bustling Hong Kong by Wang Qiutong

                                                                     Light by Chen Jingtian

                                                                Treasure by Zhu Dacheng

                         Those Passed Years by Liao Qiong

                         Land Reclaimed from the Sea by Zhang Dafu

Do you remember the mood when you saw your first art collection?

I believe everyone will not forget the throbbing and excitement of your heart when you first meet with art. Maybe it's the boldness of the brushwork expresses your ideal aspirations, or the dazzling colors give you a good mood, or the strangeness and wonderful wisdom you've never seen before brightens your eyes. Looking back at the beginning, what attracted us to stop and hold our breath may be irrelevant to the creator’s fame and the future value of the work, but simply attracted by the “art” itself. Encountering spiritual resonance from different regions and cultures, so as to get another way of "watching, understanding, thinking" the world, and enriching our life experience. This is the fun of collecting.

Focusing on 9 outstanding artists who dare to challenge tradition and insist on self-innovation, through their works, let us be surprised, moved, shocked, and taste and return to the original intention of collecting.

                                                                     Say Hi 2 by Lin Jianrong

Lin Jianrong, Taiwan's leading artist, has created a healing "bulb man" image through the perfect combination of lighting technology and art, which was collected by the National Taiwan Museum of Art and Beijing Today Art Museum. The "Say Hi 2" presented this time is a classic of this series. The villain sitting alone greets the audience, and the round head emits warm halos, illuminating people's hearts in the dark, which realize the artist's space creation concept of "integrating art into life", making the works like friends who accompany them, quietly warming everyone's heart.

                                                                Constellations by Zhao Zhao

"Constellations" comes from Zhao Zhao's Constellations series widely praised by the eastern and western academic circles. It is the largest work in the white background and densely porous composition. There are only three such large-scale works in the Constellations series so far in his life. He uses clean, sharp, and powerful lines to show the process of "violence", invisibly condensing the power to break through the appearance. In contrast, the naming of romantic works conveys the individual's desire for security, the huge contrast between the theme and the media, and the mutual transformation of "violence and beauty", which stimulates the awakening of free will. His works have been collected by more than 25 art museums around the world, including the Ullens Foundation in Switzerland, Daimler Art in Berlin, and DSL Art in Paris.

                                                         Elephant in a Peaceful Land by Zheng Lu

Zheng Lu, a contemporary sculptor, has become famous in recent years and his works have been collected by institutions such as the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Nanjing Museum, and UBS. This time, he brought his most representative Chinese stainless steel sculpture "Elephant in a Peaceful Land". The shape of the work originates from the traditional image of "an elephant carrying a treasure bottle", which means "if a country own elephants, then peace reigns over the land". The words on it are from the upper hexagram "Qian" in the 64 hexagrams of The Book of Changes, abstracting the "elephant" into "all kinds of things", which makes the interpretation of the words and the shape of the work create an interesting contrast and achieve "calligraphy and painting integration", and through the hollowed-out shape, the works are endowed with "emptiness" oriental philosophy and return the clarity of spirit.

                                                  Zhuan Jin Lun 23AT1033-34 by Liang Renhong

Liang Renhong won the "Taipei Fine Arts Award" and the "Kaohsiung Municipal Fine Arts Award" in 2001, and was selected into the production plan of large-scale public art projects, meanwhile, his artworks are collected by the Kaohsiung Museum of Art. His creation focuses on exploring the relationship between nature, machinery and philosophy. "Zhuan Jin Lun 23AT1033-34" presents a dynamic whale that ejects a jet of water and breathes freely. If the viewer pushes the top, middle sphere and fishtail of the work, it can rotate, showing the beauty of the moving balance in the change. The artist uses the weight of machinery to show the lightness of the flow, in the cycle of movement, showing the endless life of nature, and the truth that "change is eternal".

                                                             Stones Islet by Chou Chu-Wang

Chou Chu-Wang took the seemingly ordinary pebbles on the beaches of his hometown as the object of creation for nearly ten years, opening up the artistic horizon of observing nature and painting stones. "Stones Islet" is a witness to the maturity of the techniques in his works. The endless tiny sand and stone are created by fine brushstrokes, spreading out the space-time dimension like the universe. The creative perseverance gained from the natural vision has become the karmic construction for artists to write their own lives and reproduce the aura of life above reality. His work has been collected by institutions such as the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei Municipal Art Museum, and White Rabbit Museum of Australia.

                                             Echoes Crystallization - White Shirt by Shinji Ohmaki

Shinji Ohmaki, a new star of contemporary art, has made great achievements at the Art Basel and the Seto Inland Sea Art Festival in recent years. His works have been collected by 25 public institutions including Takamatsu City, Kumamoto City Museum of Modern Art, and National Taiwan Museum of Art. Echoes Crystallization - White Shirt, which was first shown at the auction, is the only five rare works of similar form. The work seals the Philippine traditional Baron shirt with an acrylic cover, and paints white flowers with toner and correction fluid outside, so that the traditional stitching pattern and modern color material overlap, telling the value of the treasured civilization and history, and making the beauty of nature Reborn in poetic art.

                                                                Pen Walking #92 by Shi Jin-Hua

Shi Jinhua, a performance artist from Taiwan, closely integrates artistic creation with life thinking and physical experience. Through the creative method of the pen, the concept of "a pen is a metaphor for a person's life" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. He has won the first prize of the "Taipei Art Award" and "Kaohsiung Award". In recent years, he has successively held exhibitions in Kaohsiung Museum of Art, Shanghai Mingyuan Art Museum and other places. "Pen Walking #92" is the artist's oil painting trial instead of the pencil in recent years. It records the trajectory of time through the paint-like path of life fluctuations, and at the end it cuts the paint tin tube and puts it in the center, such as using the body as a sign of the end to create a spiritual life picture.

                                                                                        Days in the Wilderness by Maya Hewitt

The perfect combination of Oriental elements and Western art history constitutes an international art vocabulary with distinctive Maya style and natural beauty. Her works have been collected by the "me Collector Room" foundation in Berlin and won the Tokyo Wonder Site in 2009 and 2014 respectively, as well as the village-based artists' projects in Luzhu village, Miaoli, Taiwan. Days in the Wilderness, which was first presented in Asia auctions, use a huge 2-meter-long double panel to build a surreal field full of technology and a sense of the future, showing the life situation of individuals in the racing era. It also depicts the characters and objects with oriental style and exquisite realistic brushwork and injects life-related memories and insights, showing the life aesthetics of emotional intersection in a discrete space like a dream.

                                                                                         The Imperial College by Wang Yuping

As an important representative of Chinese "New Expressionism" painting from the 1980s to 1990s, Wang Yuping recorded the city of life in the way of sketching, and showed the gentle colors in his childhood memory through the symbolic pure coloring. The work The Imperial College is the representative of his series of "painting Beijing". This double works with a continuous picture that tells the city atmosphere of the Imperial College Street in the early spring. With the consistent use of bright colors and flat shapes, it gives the scene of sketching a beautiful taste of time recollection, and presents the ancient and modern style and warmth of Beijing with real scenes. His works have been shown in important exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and the Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition, and have been collected by the National Art Museum of China and the Kaohsiung Mountain Art Museum.