Zou Yunfang's "Meet and Greet" series
24×27cm
Color on paper
2020
Wen / Kong Lingwei (Vice Dean, School of Arts and Humanities, China Academy of Art; Doctoral Supervisor)
In the history of modern and contemporary Chinese art, figure painting is one of the most transformative and outstanding fields. The tradition of ancient figure painting, which is divided into dense two bodies, continues; various archaeological discoveries, such as the murals of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, temple murals and the discovery of murals in catacombs of various eras, have injected new elements into the tradition; after the establishment of normal schools and art academies, the Western realist art tradition has taken root in China, and with the help of a series of Chinese painting "reform" and "revolution" movements, it has completely changed the face of Chinese painting.
Chen Hongshou and Ren Bonian's system of fine-brush figure painting, Yangzhou School and Hai School's sparse brush figure painting, these traditional styles have undergone the baptism of history.
"Realism" is a new starting point for the modern transformation of Chinese painting. Since then, modern Chinese figure paintings have begun to draw life and travel, news pictures, film and television art, New Year paintings, comic strips, propaganda posters... There is a close correlation. Figure paintings that grew up from the modern art education system of the Republic of China and New China have formed their own unique "modern tradition" (The New) in the selection of subject matter, modeling interest, pen and ink skills, and evaluation standards, and have also left a variety of problems worth reflecting on, this "modern tradition" does not have any essential prescriptiveness, and like any kind of modern art movement in the world, it has also been constantly adjusting itself in the process of selection and comparison.
Modern Chinese paintings, both brushwork and freehand, have been baptized by realism, but we have also lost some of our traditional interests and always have all kinds of regrets. Behind the word realism, it refers to the knowledge of human anatomy, the plaster reproduction specimen of Western classical carving, the former is based on perfect, standard, scientific human body knowledge, and the latter is the aesthetic principle of Western classicism. In fact, the modeling consciousness of Chinese painting is fundamentally different from the concept of the perfect human body formed in the ancient Greek period in the West, and in the ancient song and painting theory, we will see a large number of cattle and tigers, eagles, sheep and birds... In terms of the specific expression method, different types of characters will be considered to have the same temperament as wood and stone, yunshui, and flowers, that is, the so-called "Bede", and the Luohan in Guan Xiu's pen, The Gaoshi and beauty in Chen Laolian's pen can often be intertext with rocks, zhen pines, flowers and grasses, and even the brushwork and ink method are completely connected.
We all know that in the 1980s, Chinese figure painting began to undergo great changes, on the one hand, the art style from the West continued to have an impact on figure painters, and painters will also choose different style types according to personal preferences, Dürer, Holbein, Ingres... Linear art, impressionist light and shadow, the way of picture composition since modernism, the chaotic and rough picture texture... All of this has had an impact on modern figure painting in China. On the other hand, it was the New Literati Painting Movement that took place in Mainland China. The main body of traditional literati painting is landscape, but the new literati painting points to the life and daily experience of the city, and points to the defunctional personal taste. In this trend, the figure painting becomes a kind and warm art. The painter avoids real historical figures and chooses a symbolic art style that is enough to pin down the emotions and tastes of life.
Zou Yunfang,"Drinking Ma Jiangnan"
33×70cm
2021
Ms. Yunfang's figure paintings belong to the modern genre, and the starting point should be inseparable from the "New Literati Painting" movement of that year. Its themes are roughly pseudo-ancient and sending feelings. Its quasi-ancient category, the temperament of the works is close to Tang paintings, especially remarkable. Whether it is the choice of subject matter or the posture and action of the characters, or the method of using the pen to set colors, there are rules to follow, and it can be seen that this is an artist with a classical temperament, exquisite taste, and good at thinking. In her works, you can see the images in the legendary novels of the Tang Dynasty - monks, rangers, noble children, you can also see female officials with gentle temperaments, mournful palace women... And the details on the picture are more exquisite and elaborate, for ancient paintings or archaeological data pictures, she must have studied, boat and car shape system, diet and daily utensils, and even screens, sitting beds, monk's robes, beards, knees, even women's eyebrows in the heart of the diamond-shaped flower, these have sources, such details are not dispensable, a defect of traditional Chinese figure painting is too omitted in this regard, affecting the ancient meaning of the foil. Figure painting is different from landscapes or flowers and birds, and it is difficult to render the historical atmosphere and arouse the viewer's "reading" interest without being a reference to famous objects. The use of archaeological materials, historical objects into the painting, this is an important change in modern Chinese figure painting, this change began in the Republic of China period, the new Chinese comic strip also has a large number of such attempts, in this sense, Yunfang's pseudo-ancient theme painting is indeed full of classical temperament.
Zou Yunfang's "Travels"
40×35cm
Zou Yunfang's "Lying Tour"
55×33cm
Zou Yunfang, "Where to Escape"
As mentioned earlier, modern Chinese paintings, and the figures painted, whether ancient or modern, their body shape, posture, and expression are not like Chinese, but are deeply influenced by European academic sculpture, painting and classical theory, and the exaggerated, intense, and dramatic image is always difficult to accept. Those who emphasize the fun of freehand, drawing the image is close to the comic, Chinese the soothing, open or restrained temperament is difficult to fully express. Ms. Yunfang handles this aspect just right, or she has reached her favorite law. She started from the Tang Dynasty court ladies paintings, well versed in the patterns of Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang, the characters who appear in her works, you can feel the charm of Tang paintings such as "Trick Painting", and experience the exquisite imagery of the Tang and Song Dynasties "Water Moon Guanyin", and the figures, sitting postures and spirits of the characters in the paintings are all full of the atmosphere of classical Chinese character paintings.
Specific to artistic skills, Yunfang is also ingenious, we see from the Tang tomb murals of the strong, very strong lines are transformed by her into flexible, soothing pen lines, supplemented by small but clear pens, full of writing or lyrical meaning, in fact, this kind of fun is closer to the style of the late Song Qianxuan who also prefers Jin and Tang art - simple and clear outline ancient method, but when she deals with certain subjects, she will attach a swirling brush line to reflect the dynamic and endless emotions of the woman in the painting - Of course, this is chen Laolian's typical style.
Zou Yunfang, "Dance of the Dance"
87×27cm
Partial view of "Dancing In"
Zou Yunfang, "Watching the Drama"
Partial view of "Watching the Play"
Zou Yunfang' Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest
140×70cm
Ms. Zou Yunfang's figure paintings are miniature "history paintings" full of interest or full of literary atmosphere. In her case, history became a vague sensual experience. She is not concerned with specific events, but with human emotions that have remained unchanged throughout the ages. Among them, there are deliberate spirits, there are parting sorrows, there are sad and lazy daily lives, and there are more leisurely and leisurely, and the long-term retreat from heaven and earth. The experience and interest of the ancient elite or scholar class are revived in her pen, and the ancients she paints, such as the friends around her or the sages, heroes and beauties we know and admire, are vivid and touching. In this way, Giotto painted "Fugitive Egypt" in the Renaissance, and in the eyes of the viewer at the time, the members of the Holy Family in Giotto's paintings were as real as their neighbors, full of human warmth. Understand history with human experience and interest. Understand religion. This opened up the beginning of Renaissance art.
Zou Yunfang's "Worship the Stone"
39×39cm
Zou Yunfang,"Washing Dust"
110×33cm
Ms. Yunfang's paintings are closer to the tradition of the Book of Poetry and poetry than to the tradition of Spring and Autumn or History, which may not be related to enlightenment, but they are a bridge between our pleasant disposition and the taste of ancient and modern. In her pen, history is reduced to pure emotion, a world that ordinary historical researchers cannot touch or restore, and I call her paintings "interesting historical paintings", which refers to this meaning.
Artist Profile
Zou Yunfang
He is a member of the China Artists Association
He is a member of the Chinese Gongbi Painting Society
He is a member of the Chinese Women Painters Association
Director of Wuxi Artists Association
Vice Chairman of Yixing Artists Association
Studied under Mr. Wang Guanjun of beijing academy of painting
Artistic Experience:
In January 2020, "Treading Song Collection - 2020 Zou Yunfanggong Brush Painting Exhibition" was exhibited at the Qingguo Runxin Association in the Historical and Cultural Block of Qingguo Lane, Changzhou
In August 2019, the comic strip "Huizhen Xinyu" was selected for the 13th National Art Exhibition
In January 2018, "HuanYan Collection - 2018 Zou Yunfanggong Brush Painting Exhibition" was exhibited at Evian 269, Kowloon, Yixing
In August 2016, "This Southern Winter" was selected as "Chinese Spirit - 2016 China Hundred Jinling Painting Exhibition (Chinese Painting)"
In February 2016, his work "Chongning Joy" participated in the Invitation Exhibition of Qingzhou, a famous artist of Bingshen Painting Monkey
In November 2014, his work "Fighting Grass" participated in the 2014 Malaysia Tourism Year and the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Malaysia at the International Art Camp and Art Exhibition
In August 2014, "Fufeng Bridge" was selected as "Colorful Chinese Dream - 2014 China Hundred Jinling Painting Exhibition (Chinese Painting)"
In May 2014, walked into Haiyan - 2014 National Invitation Exhibition of Famous Artists of Gongbi Painting and Youth Academic Nomination Exhibition
In March 2014, "How not to remember Jiangnan" was selected for the 4th National Chinese Line Drawing Art Exhibition and won the Excellence Award
In June 2013, "Autumn Linjingxi River Port" was selected for the "Gathering in Yixing" National Exhibition of Industrial Brush Paintings and won the Excellence Award
In August 2012, "Trick Painting" 2 was selected for the opening of Wu Guanzhong Art Museum and the National Exhibition of Chinese Paintings in 2012, and won the Excellence Award
In August 2012, "Trick Painting" 1 was selected for the 4th exhibition of new artists and new works of jiangsu Artists Association
In June 2012, "April of Village Residence" was selected for the second Jiangsu Farmers' Painting Exhibition sponsored by the Jiangsu Provincial Artists Association and won the Excellence Award
In June 2011, "Flowers Attack people" was selected for the exhibition of fine arts, calligraphy and photography works in Wuxi to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China