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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Culture -> 
Memories of homeland in ink and wash paintings
    2017-03-14  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

    Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    ONE hundred and sixty ink and wash paintings by contemporary artist Li Xiaoke, heir to late Chinese painting master Li Keran, are on exhibit at Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Futian District through April 2.

    The exhibition is composed of four parts showcasing sketches created during Li Xiaoke’s visits to Beijing, Tibet and Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province. The landscape sketches were created using the traditional Chinese painting material of ink and water, and embody the artist’s love for nature and traditional Oriental culture.

    A special exhibition hall is slated to display Li’s calligraphy and memos on his contemplations on art, to give visitors a nuanced view into the artist’s life.

    Now in his 70s, Li has been crowned with a slew of prestigious titles but those titles are often overshadowed by his identity as the heir to his father.

    Nurtured in art under his father’s influence, Li developed a fondness for traditional Chinese painting and practiced landscape paintings from an early age.

    Starting in the 1980s, he began to frequent mountains and the headwaters of huge rivers for sketches.

    Li often drew his inspiration from nature and he considers sketching a “clash” between an artist’s inner side and the real world.

    “We uphold learning from nature and modeling oneself after the ancients. But since the ancients have their own experiences, it remains a question how one can turn his feelings into his unique artistic language and map a complex world onto a canvas of a few inches. In other words, an artist should externalize what life has brought upon his heart into a painting.”

    Starting in 2003, he created a series of press paintings based on life in Tibet and the paintings, with strong humanistic touch and visual impact, caught extensive attention from both inside and outside of the art world.

    A giant-sized landscape painting of his was chosen in 2015 for the Tian’anmen Rostrum during the military parade in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese aggression.

    The exhibition, showcasing for the first time the largest collection of Li’s work, has a special meaning for him since this year marks the 110th birthday of Li’s father.

    In an interview with a local television network, when he was asked how his father could have possibly reacted to his achievement, Li said, “He [my father] probably won’t say ‘good’ but surely would be delighted for me.”

    Landscape paintings by the Li family have earned a brand name. In Li’s eyes, Li family paintings carry a spirit that embodies the essence of Oriental culture — vigorous with majestic grandeur and open for innovation. “It is also the spirit of being willing to face challenges and be persistent,” he said.

    Carrying with him the splendor of his father, Li said he has to double his efforts to get recognized for his talent.

    “As an heir to a master painter, I have to be more strict with myself. The pressure I have felt has been turned into a driving force in me, keeping me relentless in my effort to pursue better art,” he said.

    Li said what he has benefited most from his father is the attitude towards art and life — for instance, always keeping a sense for freshness and being sensitive.

    Li thinks it is important to persistently practice painting. “In the past craftsmen were strictly required to scrupulously practice every movement by following their masters. Nowadays craftsmen have various choices with art but it remains the same that laborious efforts are necessary before one can find success with his or her unique style. Practicing art is just like brewing wine — there is a difference between brewing and blending and it is careful brewing that makes art mellow,” he said.

    Chen Lusheng, vice president of National Museum of China, said Li has shaped his own characteristics while inheriting the Li family heritage.

    Dates: Until April 2

    Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mondays

    Venue: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, 6026 Hongli Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路6026号关山月美术馆)

    Metro: Line 3 or 4, Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit B

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Shenzhen Daily E-mail:szdaily@szszd.com.cn