I used to think that doing every simple thing well is not simple, doing every ordinary thing well is extraordinary, which is probably what every mortal does every day. Ever since I saw Zhu Bingren's copper molten copper artwork, I know what a true mortal is!
The mortal Zhu Bingren was fused with copper
In the 24th year of the Qianlong Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, that is, in 1759 AD, the construction of the Haiyan Hall zodiac beasts preferred to use refined red copper, but the casting required the cooperation of Portuguese craftsmen, marking the complete decline of Chinese copper making technology.
After a hundred years, in the first year of the Guangxu Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, that is, in 1875 AD, Zhu Yuxiang and Zhu Qingrun brothers, who were born in Shaoxing Shuxiangmendi, hung up the plaque of "Zhufu Yida Copper Shop" and developed into "Zhufu Copper Art" with exquisite craftsmanship and inheritance, and Zhu Bingren learned art with his father Zhu Deyuan since childhood, repaired many Famous Temple buildings and works, and became the leader of the fourth generation of "Zhufu Copper Art".
In 2002, the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics decided to rebuild the Leifeng Pagoda, Zhu Bingren proposed to reproduce the original style of the Leifeng Pagoda in the Southern Song Dynasty, that is, to use colored copper as the decoration and external structure material of the pagoda, and the plan was passed to leave the problem to Zhu Bingren, how to restore the lost color copper of the Yuan Dynasty near the construction period? Over the years, Zhu Bingren has long been integrated with copper, no matter how difficult things are, he relies on his familiarity with the characteristics of copper, and he has successfully prepared from a few words in history books, and the colored copper Leifeng Pagoda is not only brightly colored, but also has many advantages such as erosion resistance and fire prevention.
The birth of the art of molten copper
In 2006, Zhu Bingren received the renovation of Changzhou Tianning Pagoda, the tallest pagoda in China, and near the end of the fire, the copper tiles of Tianning Pagoda were melted and flowed, and the craftsmen regretted that Zhu Bingren had worked hard for several months to turn it into scrap copper. Zhu Bingren found that the flowing copper water was like a crystal copper bead, displayed in a thousand postures in front of his eyes, and this natural and smooth beauty was incomparable to the artificially cast copper. However, it was this fire that made a new breakthrough in China's five-thousand-year-old copper culture, and a new term , "molten copper art" was born!
Bronze casting Tiancheng, pay tribute to Master Zhu Bingren
Traditional copper carving pays attention to the light art of craftsmanship, while molten copper solves the heterogeneity of "craftsmanship and art" in the expression method. In 2007, Zhu Bingren's first molten copper mural "Que Li" attracted attention, and the exhibition ended in the collection of the National Museum of China. Zhu Bingren's art of melting copper is based on ancient copper techniques, showing a higher level of world-class art appreciation, "Que Li" with the natural flow of molten copper and the resulting artistic relief modeling, the accurate grasp of color changes and realism after molten copper oxidation, known as "the second peak of copper culture".
In 2012, the large-scale copper melting mural "Han Xi" was exhibited in Bangkok, causing a sensation and being collected by the Bangkok Chinese Cultural Center, and in 2015, the large-scale copper melting mural "Spring and Qingyan" and the 2017 "Melting Ancient Cast New" Zhu Bingren Singapore Art Exhibition, the Singapore media praised Zhu Bingren's artistic achievements as world-class.
Master Zhu Bingren's clever hand is natural, and the molten copper crystals under his hands are like smooth pen and ink lines, which are so vivid and vibrant, and the depths and shades are always appropriate! Shao Dazhen, editor-in-chief of "Fine Arts Research", also praised him: "It is really interesting to say that his molten copper murals are really interesting!" The natural texture of the high-temperature melted copper and Zhu Bingren's traditional copper art, coupled with the embellishment of Chinese calligraphy, the use of oil painting techniques give this work a strong artistic vitality. ”
"Ben is the same root", "Dao Ke Dao very rice", "Qin Figurines", "Burning Sunflower", "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", "Five Bulls" and so on, have been collected by well-known art museums around the world, and Master Zhu Bingren uses his works to highlight the style of China in the new era.
In particular, in 2018, Barthes, dean of the Royal Academy of Arts in Antweg, Belgium, visited the Copper House in Jiangnan, Hangzhou, and Zhu Bingren created the Van Gogh series of works "Melted Van Gogh" and "Burning Sunflowers", butt was surprised by the heavens and suggested that Zhu Bingren exhibit in Berlin, in order to let Europe see the real works of art in modern China, and promote the European exhibition "Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage • Zhu Bingren Bronze Sculpture Art Exhibition".
If Van Gogh's sunflowers are full of reverie, I understand that Zhu Bingren's "Burning Sunflowers" is a shock, the three-dimensional sunflower leaves stretch, the grainy full lines are clearly symbolic of harvest, the gold highlights the richness implies the appearance of ruin, the bottom vase is pulled back to the reality of the decoration, can not fully appreciate the creative mood of Master Zhu Bingren, but the experience brought to the world by "Burning Sunflowers" is beyond doubt.
"Ode to the Red Flag" is a tenacious revolutionary spirit
In 2021, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, his "Ode to the Red Flag" participated in the special exhibition "Party History in Art Classics". As soon as "Ode to the Red Flag" was exhibited, it was immediately praised by all walks of life, which was zhu Bingren's ingenuity, and in order to do a good job in this work day and night, he was careful and meticulous, and wanted to reflect the glory of that era from the work.
When talking about "Ode to the Red Flag", Zhu Bingren was interviewed by reporters, he said: "The original intention of this work reflects the spirit of our party in facing difficulties on the road of forward development, perseverance and indomitable spirit, and hopes to express the gratitude of our craftsmen and artists to the motherland through this work"!
"Ode to the Red Flag" conveys to people an indomitable revolutionary spirit, warning us to remember history, and that our happy life today was bought by those ancestors who threw their heads and spilled their blood.
From 2006 to 2021, it has been fifteen years since the art of molten copper, and in the past fifteen years, Zhu Bingren has created too many extraordinary things on the road of molten copper art! All these achievements doomed Zhu Bingren to no longer be a mortal! He is the representative of China's unique copper culture, he is the national non-hereditary inheritor of the remarkable copper carving technique, and he is the grandmaster of the founding school of China's "copper melting art"!