Xu Qinghua, born in Shanghai in 1963, holds a doctorate in art from the China Academy of Art. He is currently a professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Media and Communication of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, an expert of the degree evaluation team of the Ministry of Education, a director of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, the director of the Institute of Calligraphy and Painting of the World Academy of Art in New York, the deputy director of the Art Committee of the China Buddha Statue Printing Art Research Center, the vice chairman of the Shanghai Calligraphers Association, the director of the Seal Carving Professional Committee, the researcher of the Modern Calligraphy Research Center of the China Academy of Art, the researcher of the China Seal Carving Institute of the China Academy of Arts, and a member of the Xiling Seal Society.
Famous commentary
I have always admired Brother Qinghua's Xiao Xingyin's creative ideas and expression techniques, and I know that he has persisted in this direction for decades. Looking at his recent works, there is still an impulsive charm. It can be seen that he has grasped the concise and expressive nature of Xiao Shapeyin in the Han Dynasty, and also accepted the atmosphere of spiritual transformation and simplicity of modern Xiao Shapeyin, and at the same time, he has been thinking about "getting rid of" - that is, getting rid of the unique symbols of the ancients and others, looking for a new modeling style, looking for the corresponding block surfaces, lines and knife expressions that construct such blocks and lines, so as to establish his own language system in the creative world of this theme. This "getting rid of" and "distance" are distinct and compatible. The images of the Qinghua brothers are all Chinese, but it can also be seen that the vision behind the work is transcendent. This point forms the difference between his creative ideas and the creative ideas we are accustomed to. Therefore, it is not a cliché for me to say that he has his own family law in this field.
- Sun Weizu
Xu Qinghua has a broad vision, with the background of traditional culture, modern form composition, strong visual impact, so that the Buddha statue seal and zodiac seal have a unique era style! The scheme is simple, less wins more, in one go, brilliant!
- Mao Shi'an
Brother Qinghua's Xiao shape seal creation directly expresses the essence of the core of Chinese art aesthetics - "Avenue to simplicity", and regardless of Chinese and Western art, "stick pen" is far more difficult than "complicated pen", so Qinghua brother's Xiao shape seal can get the "avenue". Contemporary Xiao Xingyin creation, which is now increasingly becoming trivial, is actually moving towards craftsmanship, which is the result of the vulgar aesthetic tendency of the mediocrity and the conquest of the artist's heart, and the result of the artist's submission to money for the sake of the market. The launch of the Qinghua brothers' new Xiao Shape-print series of works is like a fresh breeze, which cleanses the vulgarization of contemporary Xiao Shapeyin's creation, and also highlights the independent personality charm of a great artist!
- Bai Shuang
Xiao Shape Printing Exhibition is unique
Brother Qinghua's Xiao shape seal has profound skills and strong modeling expression. Whether it is the Buddha statue seal or the zodiac seal, there are bold and innovative breakthroughs, which are quite visually impactful. Dots, lines, red, white, black, square inches, own world. Qi Baishi once said: "It doesn't seem to be deceptive, it seems to be kitsch, and the painting is wonderful between the like and the not." "Qinghua's works are just different, unique in style, and interesting to reminisce.
As the vice chairman of the Shanghai Calligraphers Association, Qinghua has been immersed in exploration. His creations are rooted in tradition, but not bound by tradition. In recent years, there have been innovations in the art of giant grass, abstract painting and seal carving. Although the time for this solo exhibition is not long, the content and form of the work can be seen to be a long-term and continuous accumulation of achievements. As early as the eighties of the last century, Qinghua already had a solid foundation in Xiao Xingyin. Today's creations are even more of a fusion of calligraphy, painting, and abstract shapes. Artistic creation is a difficult process, how can we always maintain the ability to change and constantly renew ourselves? After visiting the exhibition, you will be inspired by something.
- Zheng Zhaoli
The words of Brother Qinghua are printed on the knife, seal, and knot, showing a concise, refined, majestic and broad distinctive personality. Similarly, his Buddha statues, zodiac signs, and these pattern-based Xiao shapes are still full of strong personality charm. This charm is in line with the style of text printing. Because in Qinghua's view, words and patterns are both composed of lines, but the methods of expression are different, and their inner spiritual essence is the same. In terms of artistic creation, whether it is calligraphy, painting, or seal carving, he likes to create a series of themes to challenge his resilience. Take his zodiac rabbit seal, for example, it has been engraved more than twenty times, and his interest has not diminished. With extremely simple lines, sharp knife skills, and the corresponding layout of virtual and real, he extremely cleverly portrayed the rabbit's long ears, round face, big eyes, body, forelimbs, hind legs, in a square inch of land, or jumping and running, or raising his head, or lying shy, the rabbit's alertness, alertness, liveliness, quietness, cute state and other states, vividly expressed, both god and shape. People can also feel his extraordinary creative wisdom and artistic talent from one side.
- Geng Zhongping
Works appreciation