Biography
Huo Xiangpeng, born in 1936, Suide people, famous oil painter, joined the Yan'an Literary and Art Work Troupe in 1955, engaged in stage design, national second-level designer, vice chairman of the first Yan'an Art Association, current consultant.
Huo Xiangpeng is an influential oil painter in contemporary northern Shaanxi, and also a self-taught painter in the true sense of China' contemporary times.
Born to paint
Speaking of Teacher Huo Xiangpeng, who is over eighty years old, we have always had a concern on the way to visit him, will there be any communication obstacles? In particular, will hearing and vision not communicate smoothly?
When we came to his home, The first sentence of Teacher Huo Xiangpeng's opening of the door to us to communicate, it instantly dispelled our concerns, his mental state was very good, looking at the age is not like the 86-year-old man, but like a person in his 60s, physically fit, kind and kind, it seems that we once met, not the first time we met. The so-called external evaluation of him: low-key handling, generous and friendly treatment of others.
Huo Xiangpeng's hometown is a native of Yihe Town, Suide County, Yulin, northern Shaanxi, his grandfather is a famous doctor, his father and uncle are also practicing medicine, originally the family is still well-off, it is a family of scholars. However, when he was 12 years old, his mother died of illness, and then his grandfather and grandmother passed away. The change of family made him enter the society prematurely and start the road to an independent livelihood.
However, it seems that he was born to love painting, and Huo Xiangpeng especially loved art classes when he was studying in Suide, which made the art teacher discover his interest and set up an art group with him as the leader, the drawing board newspaper.
Dancers transform into stage design
In 1955, Huo Xiangpeng was recruited into the Yan'an Song and Dance Troupe as a dancer.
"When other students are sleeping or going out to play every day after practicing, I spend my free time painting, sometimes indoors, sometimes running to the mountains or woods to sketch." Huo Xiangpeng said that he often painted and was seen by the stage design teacher, so he tried to be an assistant, the teacher saw that his painting was also good, and finally directly introduced him to the stage design group, which was also a turning point in his transformation from actor to stage design, and his works also published small works in yan'an bao, Xi'an workers' literature and art, and Ningxia Daily.
In the 1950s and 1960s, a group of famous painters from all over the country came to Yan'an to start a life of sketching and painting, such as Liu Wenxi, Chen Beixin, Yan Wenxi, Zhang Lixian, Zhou Zheng, Cai Liang. At that time, Huo Xiangpeng was often called to accompany him, and it was precisely this opportunity that allowed him to get more edification from these painters. No wonder, although Huo Xiangpeng did not enter the higher art school to study, he "studied" with them and took the fastest path - he came from practice.
Tireless pursuit of art
Living in northern Shaanxi since childhood, Huo Xiangpeng's oil paintings are mostly based on the land of northern Shaanxi, he has a unique feeling for northern Shaanxi, he loves this land, pays more attention to the grass and trees here, and he knows better that this is the source of his artistic life.
Huo Xiangpeng's paintings are mostly landscape paintings, and he has also held many exhibitions of his own paintings.
In 1985, the Municipal Federation of Literature and Literature, the Yan'an Artists Association, and the Art Museum jointly held the "Huo Xiangpeng Oil Painting Landscape Sketch Exhibition".
In 2009, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China was celebrated, and comrade Shi Lei, the person in charge of Yulin Painting, invited to hold the "Huo Xiangpeng Oil Painting Landscape Sketch Exhibition" during the exhibition of more than 50 works.
In 2011, at the invitation of the Propaganda Department of the Yulin Municipal Party Committee and the Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Television Publishing, the "Huo Xiangpeng Oil Painting Landscape Sketch Exhibition" was collected by more than 20 works.
In 2012, the Desert Flower Art Space collected all the sketches (185 paintings) and some of them were early cardboard oil paintings.
In 2014, it was published by Hebei Fine Arts Publishing House, a personal monograph by Huo Xiangpeng, a famous Chinese modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting artist, "Famous Teacher Oil Painting Sketch".
Over the years, some of his sketches "Lu Yi Old Site", "Ancient Zhai Tong Wancheng", "Winter of Mahuangliang" and "Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum" were selected for the National Forest Painting Exhibition. Three of his paintings were selected for the 11th Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition, the 2nd Shaanxi Provincial Fine Arts SketchIng Exhibition, and the 3rd Silk Road International Art Festival Invitation Exhibition. "Beautiful Nostalgia Shaanxi Tourism and Cultural Town Fine Arts Exhibition" was selected as the work "Anding Ancient Town Shigong Temple".
In 2016, the Yan'an Museum of Contemporary Art held the "Huo Xiangpeng Oil Painting Landscape Sketch Exhibition".
In 2017, Tianjin Fine Arts published the "Classic Volume of Contemporary Calligraphy and Painting Art" and "Huo Xiangpeng Oil Painting Landscape Sketch Volume".
Love life, pursue ideals, and live a casual life
On weekdays, Teacher Huo Xiangpeng will go out to sketch without a problem, a painting is a whole morning, full attention is completely undisturbed by the outside world, every time he is immersed in the world of his own painting, after painting, he is excited and has a sense of accomplishment, a series of exquisite paintings, which surprises him. Speaking of which, he smiled like a child, that was his ideal and his life.
Speaking of life, we talked to him all afternoon, and he talked about it, sharing with us his albums, his painting paths, the places he's been, the interesting stories... He didn't look tired.
When we were curious to ask, how did he do so well, with clear eyes and ears, a tough body and often go out to sketch, looking energetic? Teacher Huo Xiangpeng said, "In fact, there is no special health, eating is very casual, is to love life, pursue their ideals, face life calmly, do not care about everything, do not get angry, although my age is high, but art has no age, my mentality is still young." ”
Finally, Huo Xiangpeng also confidently told us that he is still pursuing his ideals, he said that his "post-80s" art exhibition has been successfully held, and now he is preparing for the "post-90s" exhibition, and in the case of a tough body, he will continue to prepare for the "post-100s" one-hundred-year-old exhibition.
(Huashang Daily reporter Jia Lingwei Editor He Caimei Mana)