In the "Artist" column, the fourth issue of "Fine Arts" magazine this year published an article entitled "Looking at Reality, Expressing True Feelings" written by Liu Yongjian, a famous watercolor painter who is now a member of the Watercolor Art Committee of the China Artists Association, a member of the Presidium of the Hunan Artists Association, the chairman of the Hunan Watercolor Society, and a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Academy of Fine Arts of Hunan Normal University. Tong Zha also published the watercolor painting "Auspicious" created by Liu Yongjian in 2003 and won the Golden Color Award of Chinese Art in 2003, the watercolor painting "Dust Life" created in 2019 and won the Bronze Medal of the Eleventh National Art Exhibition, the watercolor painting "Dust Life" created in 2010, the watercolor painting "Land of Birth" created in 2011 and won the Fuxiu Award of the 4th National Youth Art Exhibition, created in 2012, The watercolor painting "Little Master", which won the Excellence Award of the 10th National Watercolor and Gouache Painting Exhibition, the watercolor painting "Battle Robe", which won the Excellence Award of the Second Shanghai International Watercolor Biennale, and the watercolor painting "Nostalgia - Liangshan ButuoRen No2" created in 2018, belong to the seven watercolor paintings created by Liu Yongjian from 2003 to 2018.
2009, Chronicle of the Miners
Life in Dust
"Mine Death"
Through Liu Yongjian's articles and watercolor paintings published in Fine Arts magazine, people can understand and understand Liu Yongjian's artistic life and his artistic achievements in watercolor painting as a whole.
"Fine Arts" magazine, which was founded after the establishment of Xinzhong, has a history of nearly 70 years. "Fine Arts" has made immortal historical contributions to the development of new Chinese art, and enjoys an authoritative academic journal in the Chinese art world. Therefore, the opening of a special edition of Mei Shu magazine pushed Liu Yongjian, which attracted widespread attention in the art circles of Hunan and the whole country.
The Gleaner
The text published by "Fine Arts" magazine that Liu Yongjian poured out his heart, and the liu Yongjian who enthusiastically embraced life and used his skillful watercolor painting skills to create flesh and blood, image, character and spiritual beauty, and Liu Yongjian's true love for ordinary workers. Let us well understand that in the contemporary Chinese art world, there are also some outstanding artists like Liu Yongjian who have made suggestions for Chinese art in today's new era through their own excellent works.
《Auspicious》
Liu Yongjian uses simple words to pour out his dreams of art and life, as well as his firm belief in the aesthetic concept of the truth, goodness and beauty of art, a sober understanding of the relationship between art and life, and strives to seriously practice it in the creation of self-and watercolor paintings, sincerely and sincerely, authentically and crediblely.
"Birthplace"
"Only Chu has talent", I am happy that Hunan can produce such an excellent watercolor painter as Liu Yongjian.
Huang Tieshan, a famous contemporary Chinese watercolor painter, gave Liu Yongjian a high evaluation of his watercolor paintings.
"Little Master"
"Battle Robe"
When Liu Yongjian published a collection of watercolor paintings in 2008, Huang Tieshan wrote a preface for him, highly praising Liu Yongjian's character and artistic achievements. In the preface, Huang Tieshan praised Liu Yongjian's watercolor paintings, which have the following three characteristics:
First, he is painting with his heart. General watercolor painting is most likely to fall into the mud pit of indifferently and passively reproducing the appearance of things, while Liu Yongjian has always followed the ancient Chinese motto of "painting as a heart seal", fully close to life, expressing life with a fiery and rational piety, and infecting the viewer, looking at his paintings, you will involuntarily produce a throbbing of the heart, which is unforgettable for a long time. Second, he pursues Chinese elegance. The current watercolor paintings are mostly fiery, exposed, kitsch, and frivolous, while Liu Yongjian has been pursuing an "eternal tranquility", revealing a faint melodious beauty in "calm", with an introverted, restrained gray tone and elegant and exquisite portrayal, with an ethereal and quiet realm, creating his gentle and elegant lyrical style, so that the viewer feels a soothing pleasure and a deep touch of life.
Third, he explores the sinicization of watercolor language. Liu Yongjian's watercolor paintings strengthen the contour lines of objects, highlight the characteristics of linear modeling, suppress the contrasting relationship of color blocks, and in terms of expression techniques, with wet painting methods rich in ink charm, baking and dyeing and lines and rubbing rich in Chinese painting skills, shaping the image and atmosphere of the picture, constituting his unique Chinese watercolor painting. ″
I fully agree with Huang Tieshan's evaluation of Liu Yongjian.
However, when it comes to my understanding of Liu Yongjian, it is thanks to the introduction of Huang Tieshan's brother.
Liu Yongjian's studio is adjacent to Brother Tieshan's studio, and is introduced by Brother Tieshan. It's still quite interesting to say. ‘
I graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1966, and Liu Yongjian was born that year.
When our graduates were assigned to Changsha in 1968 according to the provisions of the State Council's red head document, Liu Yongjian was still a 2-year-old child.
At the end of 1978, when the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was convened, Liu Yongjian was still a primary school student in a remote and small place in western Hunan Province.
Therefore, it was the Great Reform and Opening Up Of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Party that enabled Liu Yongjian to grow from a primary school student in a remote mountainous village in western Hunan Province to a university professor and a nationally renowned watercolor painter. Therefore, to study Liu Yongjian's artistic life, we should put him in the context of China's reform and opening up, and analyze and study him.
The tide of the times of reform and opening up has made the development of China's art industry full of vitality and vitality, but also chaotic and orderless at the same time. While selling the concept of "total Westernization," some people preach chaotic "anti-traditional" ideas, and for a time the "theory of the death of realist painting" and the "theory of the obsolescence of realist art" have become very popular, which has disoriented some talented young artists.
But it is gratifying that in the art circles of Hunan and the whole country, there are a number of outstanding young and middle-aged artists like Liu Yongjian who adhere to the path of realistic artistic creation. In the article published in the 4th issue, Liu Yongjian soberly wrote: "Adhering to the contemporary and diverse creative methods of realism is the academic proposition that I have always adhered to."
"Adhering to the path of realistic creation is the identification of my personal artistic concepts."
"Adhering to the expression of care and emotion for real life will be an eternal topic for my future creation."
Liu Yongjian's outstanding achievements in the artistic creation of watercolor painting once again eloquently prove that the road of realistic artistic creation has evergreen artistic vitality!
Qian Haiyuan September 12, 2019
"Night Reading Notes"
Liu Yongjian
Born in February 1966
Hunan Xinhua people
He is a member of the China Artists Association
Member of the Watercolor Art Committee of the China Artists Association
Member of the presidium of Hunan Provincial Artists Association
Chairman of Hunan Watercolor Society
Professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Fine Arts of Hunan Normal University