From January 26, 2020, in order to pay tribute to the heroes in the epidemic prevention and control war, artist Shu Yong picked up the paintbrush and began his "Daily Painting" tribute to heroes, uninterruptedly drawing the story of the epidemic, drawing the mood of the epidemic, and posting it in the circle of friends every day. Today, Shu Yong's "One Painting a Day" has persisted to 818 days, and his subject matter series has been constantly updated, and his latest creation is the "Vegetable Art" series of works.
From March 31, 2022, Shu Yong's pen and ink have been invested in vegetables. At that time, Shanghai had entered the "big test" of the epidemic, and due to the shortage of supply, people were worried about the shortage of vegetables, so ordinary vegetables became art. To this end, Shu Yong painted the first vegetable work.
With the deepening of the epidemic in Shanghai, Shu Yong cares about the epidemic in Shanghai every day, cares about the emergency assistance of local governments to Shanghai, and draws inspiration from the vegetable shapes posed by the Shanghai people and continues to paint vegetables.
In Shu Yong's pen, all kinds of vegetables change shape and color, and the overall style is a witty and optimistic style. For example, cucumbers, corn, and broccoli form a bicycle frame, tires are slices of bell peppers, Chinese cabbage, greens, and peppers transform into a dancing fairy; carrots become big legs, and broccoli becomes an "exploding head" hairstyle.
The "art of vegetables" is full of tricks, reflecting the author's boundless imagination and creative wisdom. Red peppers changed a few strokes to transform into a smart little mouse; green peppers and cucumber segments and cucumber slices combined into a pug; curly long red peppers actually evolved into colorful snails; oranges turned into a cartoon cat that seemed anxious; broccoli and enoki mushrooms plus two fruit cores became a large octopus; oranges peeled off part of the skin, like a great white volunteer helping the residents to deliver vegetables.
Shu Yong said that the complexity and uncertainty of the epidemic have disrupted the rhythm of our work and life. When all this becomes the norm, our anxiety will inevitably lead to the generation of various negative energies. How to keep our hearts healthy and positive in such an abnormal environment is the reality we all have to face at the moment. He created nearly 20 works based on the creative poses of people who were quarantined during the epidemic with vegetables.
Shu Yong said that the art of vegetables and vegetables has become a special portrayal of this special period, allowing me to touch the variety of life under the epidemic. In the corridor of a residential area in Shanghai, a shared food basket containing various ingredients appeared, and a note was posted on it, saying " For those who need it, come on!" "It turned out that there were residents in the building who took out their excess ingredients and shared them with the neighbors who needed them. Originally, it was quite annoying during the sealing period, but with the shared basket, the mood of the day is much better. At this time, the dish is not only a dish to fill the stomach, but also a cultural dish and a power dish.
Artist Shu Yong
As a director of the China Artists Association, an internationally renowned Chinese contemporary artist, and the first person in China's environmental protection art, Shu Yong has always had a huge sense of social responsibility. At the end of July 2020, Shu Yong held the second stop of the national tour exhibition "Telling Chinese Stories Well" - Shu Yong Daily Painting Tribute to the Heroes of the War of "Epidemic" in Shanghai, using nearly 200 "Daily Paintings" to pay tribute to the heroes of the fight against the epidemic. Shu Yong said that the "Daily Painting" tribute to heroes will continue until the final victory in the fight against the epidemic.