As a foreign painting introduced to China, watercolor first sprouted and developed in Shanghai, from the establishment of tushan bay painting museum to the establishment of a new art school, Shanghai has always been a fertile soil for the promotion and dissemination of watercolor art in China, so Shanghai is the dock of "Chinese watercolor" and the source of "Chinese watercolor".
At the beginning of the new year, the "Beautiful Shanghai" Haipai Watercolor Creation Talent Training Studio Achievement Exhibition was unveiled in Jinghua Art Space, and a group of watercolor masters led the students to use watercolor as a medium to shape the city image of "Beautiful Shanghai" in an all-round way.
Because of the water and prosperity, the sea is full of rivers, which has achieved Shanghai's unique urban image, and at the beginning of the last century, the "water" representing the East and the "color" representing the West intersected, integrated and developed here, dyeing rich colors for the city. Watercolor is indeed a side of Shanghai painting, or an artistic face of Shanghai, and many people who paint are the first to contact watercolor, which is an art form that represents the image of the city. Among the nearly 100 works on display, Shanghai's new and eclectic Shanghai culture is vividly exerted under the pen of watercolor painters.
Feng Xinqun", "Ancient Town"
Initiated by the School of Fashion and Art Design of Donghua University and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission in 2020, the "Beautiful Shanghai" Haipai Watercolor Creation Talent Training Project strives to integrate outstanding watercolor artists in the whole society, focusing on the education and cultivation of Haipai watercolor art talents and the dual path of Haipai cultural aesthetic education theory research, and promotes college talents to carry out aesthetic connotation excavation and creative practice with "Beautiful Shanghai" as the central concept. Since its inception, the project has been committed to excavating the heritage of red culture, Haipai culture and Jiangnan culture, exploring the new paradigm of Haipai art and creative people, and exploring the possibility of combining watercolor with other arts.
Yang Jianyong "Yunzhuang"
During the exhibition, a seminar bringing together experts and scholars was held at the same time to discuss the development and trend of Haipai watercolor art.
Professor Feng Xinqun, Deputy Dean of the School of Fashion and Art Design of Donghua University, pointed out that telling the urban story of Shanghai through watercolor has a special meaning today. There are many details and textures in the city of Shanghai that highlight the characteristics of Shanghai culture and have endless stories to tell. I have lived in Shanghai for more than 30 years, but I always feel that I have not been able to seriously paint the city. "A building door may seem ordinary, but when you spend hours depicting it, you feel the sophistication in the details of Shanghai' city." Beautiful Shanghai' walks through Shanghai with watercolor, so that more people can understand watercolor, let students perceive the beauty of Shanghai, and experience the cultural connotation and artistic charm of this modern metropolis. ”
Huang Azhong, "Nanchang Road Autumn"
According to the exhibition curator Yang Jianyong observed, Shanghai's character and watercolor are a bit like, Shanghainese are more casual, full of interest, this is the highlight of watercolor painting, a flying white watermark left by the watermark, or unintentional water trace shaping, are the romantic mood of haipai watercolor. "The ever-changing city is an opportunity for watercolor painting to create a more poetic and beautiful Shanghai."
Chen Lei, "Morning in Shanghai"
Huang Azhong, a professor at the School of Fine Arts of Shanghai University, analyzed: "Watercolor sketching is a creative means around the city's streetscape to depict the characteristics of the city, and this carrier is well chosen, because watercolor is too romantic and matches the city very well." He was very excited to see that watercolor painters and students from all over the world took up watercolors to express the beauty of Shanghai, and expressed Shanghai and freehand Shanghai in various forms and styles.
Zhu Kairong, "Urban Variation II"
The implementation of the "Beautiful Shanghai" Haipai Watercolor Talent Training Master Studio pays attention to the continuous innovation of teaching concepts. Although the course does not care about the form and content, it pays more attention to guiding students to grasp the pulse of the times, excavate the cultural connotation of Shanghai, enhance their artistic accomplishment, improve their professional skills in watercolor, and cultivate more high-level watercolor art talents for "Beautiful Shanghai".
The exhibition is jointly sponsored by Shanghai Talent Studio for the Combination of Culture and Education, Shanghai Steering Committee for Postgraduate Education of Art Degrees, and School of Fashion and Art Design of Donghua University.
Luo Xianyue,"Late Autumn in Water Town"
Author: Fan Xin
Image source: organizer, "Shanghai Jing'an" WeChat public account
Edited by: Shang Hui
Editor-in-Charge: Li Ting
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.