Jiang Mingyang
Sunlight is only white, but under the refraction of the prism, it produces a colorful light; and after shining brilliantly, it can return to the white of jane. Just like Liu Ziming (1927-2014) and Susan Valadon (1865-1938, Suzanne Valadon), these two artists, they are two different "whites", but they are in their own lives, blooming with colored light.
The recent exhibition "The Sound of the Sun" in Shanghai focuses on the creation of French artist Liu Ziming in the 1950s and 1980s, and cooperates with the works of Susan Varadon, who formed a dialogue with him, presenting different styles of works in the era of great changes in the 19th and 20th centuries. The two artists, one moving, one quiet, one in the Middle and one in the West, have lived out very brilliant colors in their own lives and in their own times, and they can return to their inner peace.
Liu Ziming, who is intoxicated with art
Liu Ziming, born in Yunnan in 1927, is the second generation of Chinese artists to study in France after Pan Yuliang, Fang Junbi and William Cai. He has been deeply cultivated by both Eastern and Western cultures since childhood, but at the age of 11, he lost his hearing in both ears due to meningitis and lost the ability to talk to people. This misfortune made Liu Ziming form a deep relationship with art on the later road of life. In 1946, accompanied by her sister Liu Ziqiang, she was admitted to the National Peking Art College, and successively studied Western painting and ink painting with Ai Zhongxin, Li Ruinian, Ye Qianyu, Song Buyun, Jiang Zhaohe, etc.
Liu Ziming (1927-2014)
Liu Ziming's "Self-Portrait", exhibited at the scene
In 1949, Liu Ziming took the letter of recommendation written by Xu Beihong for her and went to the French big hut studio to study painting for two years. The big hut studio is the base camp for Chinese artists studying art in Paris, and we are familiar with Chang Yu, Pang Xuanxuan, etc. who have studied painting here. Liu Ziming received a non-academic, modern art education in the big hut studio, and the "Woman's Body in front of the Window" exhibited in the exhibition is her creation during the big hut period. Here she met Pan Yuliang, Xiong Bingming, Wu Guanzhong, Zao Wou-Ki and so on. In 1952, Liu Ziming was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris, where he studied at the Nabony Studio and the Chabailan Midi Studio, where he received an orthodox academic education.
The artist once recalled that after World War II, France had many initiatives to restore the economy and increase income. During her stay in France, every summer vacation, the students of the Paris Academy of Fine Arts could no longer live in the dormitory, and the dormitory was vacated, in fact, it was for tourists from abroad to make hotel accommodation, which could increase the school's income. It can also be regarded as a historical coincidence, subjective or passive, which makes Liu Ziming have many opportunities to go out to sketch, contact society, and contact modern art throughout the French period. Many of her Swiss sketches, British sketches, and southern Nice, France, were created during this period.
Liu Ziming "Red Rose"
Liu Ziming, "Outside Paris"
From 1952 to 1956, Liu Ziming's oil paintings "Winter Morning", "Garden", "Human Body Standing in Front of the Mirror", "Human Body sitting on a chair", etc., were also selected into the Paris Salon of French Painters and the Paris Autumn Salon.
Liu Ziming's seven years of studying art in France (1949-1956) coincided with the rise of abstraction, and what really impressed her was the figurative works with lyrical meaning. She systematically studied classical and modern art, admiring masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt, but she was more fascinated by the depth of Cézanne and Braque, the sorrow of Van Gogh, the clumsiness of Rousseau, the melancholy of Utrilo, and the simplicity of Marche. Liu Ziming's paintings don't look like anyone else's, but the infection these artists give her is obvious.
Liu Ziming,"Swiss Landscape"
In 1957, Liu Ziming returned to China to work in the Beijing Literary Association, and four years later, she returned to her hometown of Kunming. Under the watering of family affection, her art has changed greatly during this period. Flipping through the artist's album, you will find that she has created a large number of wonderful works here, the market in the countryside of Yunnan, the potted flowers placed in the home, she paints a simple and freehand atmosphere with simple means, and can appreciate the artist's bright mood. The return of her family and the return of painting have allowed her to form her own unique style on top of comprehensive basic learning, which is fresh, elegant and quiet.
Excellent family situation Clear life
Liu Ziming's family was well-off, with a sister and a sister, sister Liu Ziqiang, who graduated from Southwest United University, studied literature at Tsinghua and Paris Universities, and later taught at the Spanish Department of Peking University, and was the wife of Mei Zuyan, the son of Mei Yiqi. Sister Liu Ziqin, in the United States, is still alive. The three sisters are a veritable showgirl. Their father, Liu Baijun, graduated from the Yunnan Daowutang and was a famous patriotic general of the democratic revolution, but when they were young, they were tragically killed by mistake. Therefore, in later life, her mother Liu Shuqing has become an important role in their lives, not only to give care to the lives of their sisters, but also to guide the spirit of a strong, positive and optimistic life.
There are two documents that can be more intuitively understood by their mother Liu Shuqing. First, the 1948 "Popular News" published an interview article against Liu Shuqing, "Provincial Senator, Theater Manager, Salesian Principal, a Legendary Widow Ms. Liu Shuqing Succeeded in Her Struggle with Good Feelings from All Quarters and the Spiritual Support of Long Yun and His Wife"; second, in 1948, "News World" published Ma Xingkong's article "A Virtuous Wife and Mother-type Careerist Liu Shuqing Xiangfu Godson", the title of the article basically clarified most of Liu Shuqing's identity.
Exhibition site, literature
Originating from her husband Liu Baijun, she has established a good relationship with the military and government of Yunnan for two terms, and she also has the opportunity to become a provincial senator. Cinema refers to the Nanping Cinema in Yunnan, founded by Liu Shuqing, which in the 1940s was one of the most advanced and modern cinemas in Kunming and even wartime China. At that time, many avant-garde movies can be seen here. Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai, the Southwest United Congress, moved south to Kunming during the war, which played an important role in promoting the great development of the people's customs in the southwest. The development of the cinema also enabled Liu Shuqing to have a wide intersection with the first-line cultural circles, art circles, and political and commercial circles at that time. Another title was "Salesian Principal", liu Shuqing founded the Salesian Kindergarten to care for children who lost their families and parents in the war. "Xiangfu godson" is her own words, "A woman's responsibility to society is to teach her husband and son, but my life is inferior to that of a person, there is no husband to teach, no child to teach, and I cannot forget my responsibility to society." "She thinks of her career as her husband, she treats abandoned babies as children, and she is a person with great love.
When Liu Ziming was 11 years old, she lost her hearing due to meningitis fever, but her mother still gave her infinite love and provided her with a good education. Asking Liu Wenqing, a French artist, to teach her to paint is considered Liu Ziming's artistic enlightenment. Her sister, Liu Ziqiang, also gave her the love of a mother. Liu Ziming went to Beiping Art College, accompanied by his sister, went to Paris to study, and was also accompanied by his sister. It can be seen that Liu Ziming's calm and introverted personality is inseparable from her family environment. Liu Ziming grew up in a happy environment, so her heart is very clear.
Reducing social interactions, knowing little about many people's sophistication, contemplation, introspection and self-knowledge, forming her unique personality and psychological qualities, making her a pure painter. Tranquility, elegance, and refinement, just like her state of mind, have also become the spiritual core of Liu Ziming's artistic style.
Liu Ziming, "Reading Girl before Flowers"
Liu Ziming, "The Courtyard", 1961
A static movement, a conversation
The "Sound of the Sun" exhibition also specially adds the works of Susan Varadon, and the two people are not related in terms of academic context and intersection. Unlike Liu Ziming, Susan Varadon was a famous French female artist active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and before becoming an artist, she was a famous painter model, both the muse of the symbolist painting master Chavanne and the inspiration for the Impressionist masters. Her artistic career spans 55 years. Her dual identity as a model and artist has left her name in art history, and her unique artistic creation has contributed greatly to women's art.
Suzanne Valadon (1865-1938, Suzanne Valadon)
Susan Varadon is also the mother of Maurice Utrilo, the "son of Paris" famous for painting French street scenes, and Yutrilo's influence on Liu Ziming's paintings is direct and intrinsic. Liu Ziming has no direct contact with Varadon, but the dialogue between the works of two female artists who have lived out their own works in the torrent of history can provide a new perspective on art history. Through the rich works, touch the delicate emotions in the artist's heart, look back at the artistic ecology of post-war Paris, and then peek into the legendary experience of how female artists change their lives with art.
Painting by Susan Varadon
Susan Varadon, "The Vase on the Table"
Returning to the introduction, "Sunlight is only white, but under the refraction of the prism, it produces a colorful light, and after shining brilliantly, it can return to the simple white." "Just looking at these two artists, it may be ordinary. A closer look at their experiences, their study, their creations, and their participation in the history of modern art reveals that their lives are legendary. This legend ultimately presents only this "white", like the feeling of sunshine. This sentence is used to describe Liu Ziming and Varadon. One movement and one stillness, one Middle and one West, are in their own lives, in their own times, living out very brilliant colors, and can return to inner peace, which is the reason for putting them together. The name of the exhibition, "The Sound of the Sun", also reflects on this aspect.
A work, a life, a modern art history, need to be listened to carefully.
Exhibition site
Note: The exhibition will last until October 30 at Unan 396 Art Space (No. 10, Lane 396, Urumqi South Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai)
Editor-in-Charge: Lu Sijia
Proofreader: Luan Meng