Lu Yushun was born in May 1962 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. He is currently the president of the National Academy of Painting of China, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a director of the China Artists Association, a doctoral supervisor of the China Academy of Arts, a deputy director of the China Art Commission, the vice president of the Chinese Painting Society, the second "National Young and Middle-Aged Literary and Art Workers of Virtue and Art", and the "Four Batches" of talents of the Central Propaganda Department.
From "Contemplating the Eight Wilds" to "Tang Poetry" to "The Belt and Road", he completed the construction of the new landscape style system, with the philosophical and poetic "Lujia Landscape" and a lone standard; he emerged in the Chinese painting world in his early 20s, promoted to professor at the age of 29, vice president of Harbin Normal University at the age of 34, vice president of the National Academy of Painting of China at the age of 44, and president of the National Academy of Painting of China in 2020. Lu Yushun, who became famous very early, became one of the leading figures in the Chinese landscape painting world with his unique artistic achievements.
Lu Yushun's works
It is in the same vein as the realist landscape
In 1986, by chance, Lu Yushun had the honor of entering the Chinese Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts for further study, and a year later, due to his excellent results, he was seconded to teach in the Chinese Painting Department of the Academy. During this period, Lu Yushun not only had the opportunity to seek advice from Huang Runhua, Zhang Ping, Jia Youfu, and Wang Yong, but also regained the life of Li Keyan, Ye Qianyu, Zhang Tong, Liu Boshu and other predecessors.
In the speculation of the works and creative concepts of the teachers, I deeply realized the essence of the realistic landscape: taking the sketch as the prototype, on the basis of respecting visual feelings, we strive to express the basic structure and physical characteristics of the "true landscape", and present the landscape spirit with the characteristics of the times from the real objects.
As a new type of art form, the realistic landscape school has opened up the distance from traditional literati paintings with realistic "true landscape" images at the conceptual level with a strong sense of home and country, and at the practical level, creating a new Chinese landscape painting pattern full of vitality.
"Contemplating the Eight Wilds"
"Waiting for the Eight Wilds" series
Establish the status of the painting world
In his later years, Li Keyan, the first president of the National Academy of Painting of China, paid special attention to the expression of the freehand and personal mentality of pen and ink, trying to reconstruct the lyricism of pen and ink and the imagery of landscape in the three-dimensional spatial structure, and tried to reconcile the relationship between realism and freehand, objects and images. Although the dyeer ultimately failed to transcend the limitations of pen and ink obedience, the later landscape was also connected with the spiritual bloodline of traditional landscape, and gradually perfected the state of integration of heart and matter, Lu Yushun was deeply taught by Li Keyan, coupled with the perceptual observation of Li Keyan's creation in his later years, which contributed to his redefinition of landscape painting.
Therefore, Lu Yushun elevated the landscape from a state of object to a high-level spiritual activity of writing the image in his heart, relying on the dual resources of the classical landscape tradition and the realistic landscape, and determined the creative orientation of the spirit from the ancient to the present, and the language was also in the West. As a result, in 1993, he created the series "Meditation on the Eight Wilds", which established the status of the painting world!
"Contemplating the Eight Wilds" is lu Yushun's first masterpiece after the general formation of his artistic outlook and style. As soon as the work was published, it shook the art world and society with the Zhuang Zen spirit of Cheng Huai Guan Dao, the vast and gloomy flood and desolate cosmic scene, the mysterious realm of high and empty space, and the transcendent divine narrative style.
"Lujia Landscape"
Enriched contemporary Chinese landscape painting
Lu Yushun's "Lujia Landscape" has both the imprints of related cultures and the influence of northeast landscapes. The landscape of the northern country has a more intrinsic meaning than ice and snow, and in the face of simple meadows and hills covered with coniferous forests, the traditional methods and depictions are stretched.
His landscapes integrate the wind and clouds of heaven and earth and the vegetation of mountains and rivers into one, forming a thick, melancholy and quiet picture. These pictures have no specific direction, and some are greater than intuitive meanings. "In my landscape creation, I often do not depict specific and natural scenes, but tend to the expression of symbolic macroscopic scenes and formal symbols that I think have cultural significance, as contemplative activities and practices, they are my spiritual realm of tacit understanding, unity of God, and independence."
"The Beauty of Heaven and Earth"
It can be seen that Lu Yushun's landscape is neither a copy of traditional imagery nor an expression of personal encounters. It is a sentiment that originates from the self and transcends the self, a humanistic feeling at the turn of the century. In the face of modernity and tradition, on the one hand, the spiritual appeal of modern people, on the other hand, echoes the ancient idea of the unity of heaven and man.
These image symbols are represented by the sun and moon smoke clouds, ancient mountains, rushing waterfalls and springs, lush jungle shrubs and other mountains and rivers, through different series of theme expressions, respectively, with the riotous inkers, vegetables, fruits, insects, fish, leaders and other symbolic images to intervene in the landscape world composed of mountains, water, trees, smoke clouds, etc., forming a picture vision that is difficult to see in traditional landscape paintings.
This contrast with traditional landscape painting has precisely formed Lu Yushun's distinctive and contemporary landscape painting. Through his own painting styles, symbols, pen and ink, he shows the power and beauty of nature, expresses the harmonious realm of the integration of material and self, emits a voice that resonates with our times, and gives people the sublimation of feelings, the purification of mood and the improvement of spirit. Lu Yushun's distinctive personality and unique style of painting have enriched the treasure house of contemporary Chinese landscape painting art.
Lu Yushun Art Standard
To become a model of new humanistic art
Based on the aesthetic style of "Eight Wilds and Theosophical Gods" and the artistic stand of "great beauty of heaven and earth", Lu Yushun has broken through and explored between Chinese painting and Western painting for more than 40 years, and practiced the "Lu Yushun Art Standard" of "Chinese Inheritance, Chinese Spirit, And Chinese Style".
His series such as "Contemplating the Eight Wilds", "Spiritual Homeland", "Great Beauty of Heaven and Earth", and "Qiankun Dayi" have established Mr. Lu Yushun's important position in the history of Contemporary Chinese art, forming the great atmosphere of Chinese contemporary art of "looking at humanities to transform into the world", and Lu Yushun's creation has led the new trend of thought of Chinese art in the 21st century - becoming a model of new humanistic art.