Co-sponsored by the China Artists Association, the China Folk Literature and Art Association, the Propaganda Department of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, the "Affection for the Greater Bay Area - Pan Lusheng's Artworks Touring Exhibition" will be exhibited at the Shenzhen Art Museum (New Museum) from January 24 to February 25, 2024. This article is an excerpt from an expert commentary.
—Editor's note
Liu Wanming (Curator, Deputy Director of the National Museum of China, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Artists Association)
Pan Lusheng's color and ink works are a kind of emotional and poetic expression, which is the interweaving of emotion and art. He expresses the concept of contemporary art with the vision of contemporary people, the method of contemporaneous observation of things and the method of contemplating phenomena, and observes all things with folk art, looking for true feelings, and at the same time adding his sincere feelings to the thinking of a theorist. Pan Lusheng's artistic creation has a unique creativity, and the composition and brushwork of the works in this exhibition have undergone great changes. His artistic pursuits and artistic expressions are different at all stages. In terms of painting language, he is good at skillfully integrating elements of folk art into painting, and is good at grasping and transforming folk art as a whole, and the diversity of artistic techniques shows the inclusiveness of his painting style. His thematic creations have triggered the art world to think about a series of issues such as art and tradition, art and folk, artistic creativity, and the essence of artistic creation. The exhibition expresses a kind of tolerance, a feeling, and a pattern, which is where the grandeur of Pan Lusheng's artistic spirit lies.
Shangyue Ancient Town, Guangdong, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 245cmx124cm, color ink on paper
Lin Lan (Academic Host, Vice Chairman of China Artists Association, Chairman of Guangdong Artists Association)
Pan Lusheng's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is bustling and busy, radiating surging urban vitality. The old and the new, the ancient and the modern, the countryside and the city, present a new cultural landscape of symbiosis between tradition and modernity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from multiple perspectives and dimensions. In each work, the focus is not on the object entity, but also on the relationship and rhythm. With a meaningful image full of emotion and a modern brush and ink language, the artist's deepest thoughts and understandings are expressed, and through this picture of the Bay Area, which is full of deep local feelings, we can deeply feel his mental journey of continuous seeking breakthroughs in the search for breakthroughs, and constantly improving and surpassing himself in the process of trying and innovating. The strong "love" that is deeply contained in it is the essence of his paintings - the choice of subject matter is ordinary, the content is realistic, the record is serious, but the visual presentation form is freehand - the love for local customs, drawing nutrients from the real life of Lingnan, and the sensitivity to the new image of the Bay Area, capturing inspiration from the reform practice of the Bay Area, forming a unique artistic emotional imprint, which is elastic, full and healthy, and moving because of its sincerity!
"Guangdong Shanwei People", Pan Lusheng, 2022, 245cmx124cm, color ink on paper
Yan Ping (Former Vice Chairman of China Artists Association)
Pan Lusheng's works are very accessible, and his artistic sources and painting motifs are abundant and vivid, and have a long history. Pan Lusheng's slogan "Go to the people" is very loud, hot, and wild, showing the infinite possibilities of the future. In terms of painting language, he looks at the world from macro, objective and micro perspectives, divides the layout of the picture with abundant feelings and simple expressions, and shows historical development and social changes. He explores the language of painting art from folk elements, and at the same time integrates a variety of art categories, emphasizing the application of concepts and new technologies, reflecting the characteristics of the current era, showing the possibility of innovation and retro connection in the field of art.
"Guangdong, Dawan Shiju", Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124cmx124cm, color ink on paper
Hang Jian (Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of the China Academy of Art, Deputy Director of the Theory Committee of the China Artists Association)
Hometown is a mission. His works embody his thoughts on nostalgia and his feelings for the motherland, culture, and traditional folk arts. The hustle and bustle of the rapid development of the Greater Bay Area and the silent picture form a strong visual contrast, which typically reflects the relationship between the times and art, expresses a unique nostalgia, and has unique value for the creation of realist art; From the perspectives of artistic expression, color, and line, Pan Lusheng's color and ink works are the pursuit of Du Dakai's style, and they all use photographs to create. Pan Lusheng does not rely on sketching, and the emotions in his paintings can be traced back to his thoughts on the rapid development of the Greater Bay Area in the process of fieldwork, as well as his expression of his feelings about the development of the relationship between tradition and modernity from the perspective of folk art. Pan Lusheng's works have decorative elements, which are a kind of emotional emphasis, which is of great significance in the artistic spirit. Sketching is both a method and a goal, acting as an intermediary for the rapid development of folklore and folklore in contemporary society. Pan Lusheng's artistic life is very systematic, and his works are full of contemplations on contemporary society.
Hong Kong, Tai O Fishing Port, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124x245cm, color ink on paper
Chen Xiangbo (Chairman of Shenzhen Artists Association, Director of Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen)
Pan Lusheng's paintings are the art of the earth, and his works have a variety of themes and forms, and the series of works "Sending Love to the Greater Bay Area" is his own unique cultural thinking formed in the vivid folk life and on-the-spot sketching experience in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The aesthetic field with rich connotations created by the dialogue between the mind and nature, humanity and society expresses Pan Lusheng's exploration and reflection on the road of integration and symbiosis of China's urban construction and rural revitalization, the coordinated development of traditional culture and modern civilization in the new era, as well as the record and insight into the urban construction and development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The series of works "Affection for the Greater Bay Area" skillfully combines different brushwork and coloring methods from the East and the West, so that traditional Chinese painting and contemporary aesthetic concepts are organically integrated. The works combine the spirituality and perception of painting art creation with the practice and experience of art creation, forming a personalized art schema with rich connotations, and forming its own distinctive personality and style in the field of contemporary art in the process of constructing Chinese modern civilization.
Guangdong Huidong Folk Residence, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124x245cm, color ink on paper
Gu Liming (Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University, Member of the Oil Painting Art Committee of the Chinese Artists Association)
Pan Lusheng first extracted the straight line cutting of reality and space from the abstract language of the Luban line. Most of the Greater Bay Area he sees is a large structure between the city and the countryside, which is a straight line, and the east and west have flatness and modernity. Because Pan Lusheng saw the changes and development of the old and the new in his research in the Greater Bay Area, he grasped the sense of touch in his creation, regarded brush and ink as the presence of the sense of touch, grasped the emotions of people, and broke through the bottleneck of the lack of tactile sense in Chinese painting. In the series of works in the Greater Bay Area, a large number of straight lines increase the tension of space, and he grasps the general pattern of space, and then grasps the specific tactile feeling, and uses the combination of the two to create an aesthetic meaning with the characteristics of the contemporary Greater Bay Area. Through creation, research, theory, collection and other explorations, Pan Lusheng has integrated the theory and creation of folk culture, showing a strong comprehensiveness.
Macau & Portugal Restaurant, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124cmx124cm, ink on paper
Tang Hui (Vice President of Chinese Painting Society, President of Rong Bao Zhai Painting Institute)
The creation of "Affection for the Greater Bay Area" shows the feelings of art and the sense of historical responsibility. Pan Lusheng carries out artistic practice with a high academic position and academic vision, and his historical atlas and works express real life, using traditional freehand painting to express the artist's inner truth. Under the trend of modern development of the construction of the Greater Bay Area, the realistic creation stimulates the inheritance and protection of folk culture in the society, and retains the cultural heritage. Pan Lusheng's ink language has some decorative elements, as well as the inheritance of excellent folk culture, as well as an abstract, dotted, line-and-surface world language, Pan Lusheng's creation is the result of the contemporary interpretation and in-depth development of brush and ink, and the artistic treatment of the object and image ontology in the mode of color and ink is a new creation of the exhibition.
The Big Banyan Tree, Pan Lusheng, 2023, 124x245cm, ink on paper
Wang Dawei (Scholar of Shanghai University, Dean of International Institute of Public Art, Shanghai University)
In the works in this exhibition, the subject matter of painting has shifted from the folk to the urban folk, and the painting style has also changed from the simple folk painting style to the academic painting system that pays attention to regulations, rules and techniques. Small scenes, big paintings. The small scene focuses on seeing the big with the small, seeing the big artistic conception with the small scene, seeing the big pattern, seeing the big feeling, making people have a rich imagination of the artistic conception, full of nostalgia, and arousing resonance; In the painting, "quiet" is used to see "authenticity". "Authenticity" is the true expression of emotion, which not only reflects Pan Lusheng's thinking on the cultural inheritance of the Greater Bay Area, but also leaves the viewer with space for imagination and reflection through art, which is the most important value of contemporary art.
Harbor Typhoon Shelter, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124cmx124cm, color ink on paper
Qiao Xiaoguang (Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Member of the Art Education Committee of the Ministry of Education)
Pan Lusheng poured his deep affection for the countryside into his paintings, presenting his feelings and impressions after research and observation in his paintings, just like painting his own long-admired old knowledge. The creation of thematic paintings in the Greater Bay Area is a useful exploration, and it is also a way for him to use local art style painting to serve the social reality of China's modernization and development, and to portray the blueprint of the times. Pan Lusheng is looking for the growth point of his artistic creation on the soil of folk art he loves and the land where he lives. Pan Lusheng's folklore is characterized by practical folklore, and the creative narrative of the Greater Bay Area puts forward the proposition of China's rural modernization, for him, "hometown is a fact". Pan Lusheng used his brush to depict the facts of the countryside and modernity in the Greater Bay Area, telling the most vivid facts of his hometown and telling the story of China well.
Ao, Guanye Market, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124x124cm, ink on paper
Zheng Peikai (Chairman of China Folk Literature and Art Association Hong Kong Branch)
Pan Lusheng believes that folk culture is also an ecological environment, which has been seriously damaged in the process of modern industrialization and needs urgent protection, otherwise it will soon disappear from the world. Picking up the brush and recording the disappearing folk culture and scenery is like protecting the natural ecological environment, at least it can still retain some precious memories in the world, so that future generations can keep the historical traces of Kezi. Pan Lusheng's "Affection for the Greater Bay Area" art exhibition is a traveling exhibition of his sketches in the Greater Bay Area, which was exhibited in Shandong, Shenzhen, Macao and Hong Kong, demonstrating his deep concern for the folk culture and landscapes of the Greater Bay Area. We wish the exhibition success and hope that this exhibition will arouse the deep concern of our friends in the Greater Bay Area for their homeland.
Hong Kong, Tai O Fishing Village, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124x124cm, color ink on paper
Zhang Zhiqing (Dean and Professor, Dean of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology)
The exhibition of works in the Greater Bay Area shows two characteristics of Pan Lusheng himself. One is diligence. He has been to Macao many times to research and give lectures, and a lot of time and experience have been invested to create dozens of works in a year. The second is deep love. Pan Lusheng witnessed the change and disappearance of local traditional crafts and folk customs during his research, which triggered his love for the Greater Bay Area, and his observation and feeling of carrying out folk art research in the Greater Bay Area stimulated his passion for creation. "Old Shipyard" shows the handmade wooden boats he saw when he was researching the shipbuilding technology of Macao, conveying feelings through paintings, and recording traditional and folk things that are about to disappear. Pan Lusheng's roots in the folk are not rooted in the theoretical sense, but he clings his body to the soil, integrates life into the earth, takes root in China, and casts his soul in tradition.
Ao, Old Shipyard, Pan Lusheng, 2022, 124cmx124cm, ink on paper
(Source: Pan Lusheng Folk Art Museum)