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Museum chief holds solo show of '3rd eye' paintings
By Wang Jie |
November 10, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FANG Zengxian, director of the Shanghai Art Museum, says successful artists need a "third eye." His own insightful works covering five decades are on exhibit at the Zhejiang Art Museum. Wang Jie reports.
Fang Zengxian is well known as the director of the Shanghai Art Museum and a legendary expert in ink-wash painting.
Today admirers can appreciate his work in a solo exhibition of 130 ink-wash paintings, covering five decades.
The show runs through next Thursday at Zhejiang Art Museum in Hangzhou.
Fang, who is approaching 80, has been identified with the Shanghai Art Museum for years and still holds the honorary post of director.
Born in 1931 in Lanxi, Zhejiang Province, Fang says his emotional link with art was inspired by his mother.
"My mom loved painting, especially imitating floral patterns," Fang recalls. "When I was only three or four years old, I was surrounded by a group of ladies in my house who shared the same interest with her."
But Fang's family lived in a small mountain village in Puding County, so he had to climb the mountains to go out for his entrance examination for the Hangzhou No. 1 Middle School.
His talents enabled Fang to study at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Art where he received systematic training in traditional ink-wash painting.
Fang is noted for his depiction of figures and portraits on rice paper.
In 1963, his paper "How to Create Figure Painting on Rice Paper" was published and soon swept the country.
At that time, nearly everyone who learned traditional ink-wash painting had this book. It sold around 360,000 copies in its first year; there were additional printings.
Apart from his contribution to figure painting, Fang is also well known for his ability to recognize an artist's age and background through his or her artworks.
He once was given about 100 artworks by different artists and later correctly figured out just everyone's general age and background.
"The young people are more attuned to absorbing Oriental elements, while the amateur painters may be adept with a brush but lack solid technique," he says.
Asked which Chinese master impresses him most, he says it's Huang Binhong.
Fang encountered Huang in 1955 when he was a postgraduate student at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Art. At that time Huang was over 90 years old.
"Some classmates and I were honored to have a closer inspection of his paintings," Fang says.
To his surprise, Huang didn't literally depict what he saw before his eyes but what was mirrored in his heart.
"It was at that moment that I totally understood 'implicative painting'," Fang says. "An artist is not a craftsman. Rather than painting what already exists there, an artist should have a third eye in reflecting what he sees."
Fang is low key and has maintained a low profile over the years.
Although he is approaching 80, he never lacks for new ideas.
Without his firm support, the Shanghai Biennale would not have been realized.
"I heard the word 'biennale' long time ago, but I didn't know what it was about," Fang recalls. "Then I went to the Venice Biennale and was totally amazed at the varied expressions and concepts of art."
He wanted to see the same thing in Shanghai and worked to make it happen.
The 8th Shanghai Biennale will be held next year.
Fang Zengxian's solo exhibition
Date: through November 19
Address: 138 Nanshan Rd Police launch crackdown on vice, gambling Tom Qian
POLICE in Hangzhou have launched a crackdown on vice, including drugs trafficking, prostitution, pornography and gambling.
Pimps will be fined up to 150,000 yuan (US$21,962) and the entertainment venues where they work will face fines of up to 100,000 yuan. Operations will be suspended for three to six months.
Venues where illegal drugs are found will be closed for up to six months.
Owners who allow gambling machines on their premises will face a shutdown of three months and a fine of 50,000 yuan, or five times their illegal income. Those who are convicted will be banned from operating entertainment facilities.
Police say they will closely monitor KTV and dance clubs, bars, saunas and game rooms. They will check at random, publicize the names of violators and set up a database of blacklisted venues.
Violation of fire safety codes will face fines of up to 300,000 yuan.
Fang Zengxian is well known as the director of the Shanghai Art Museum and a legendary expert in ink-wash painting.
Today admirers can appreciate his work in a solo exhibition of 130 ink-wash paintings, covering five decades.
The show runs through next Thursday at Zhejiang Art Museum in Hangzhou.
Fang, who is approaching 80, has been identified with the Shanghai Art Museum for years and still holds the honorary post of director.
Born in 1931 in Lanxi, Zhejiang Province, Fang says his emotional link with art was inspired by his mother.
"My mom loved painting, especially imitating floral patterns," Fang recalls. "When I was only three or four years old, I was surrounded by a group of ladies in my house who shared the same interest with her."
But Fang's family lived in a small mountain village in Puding County, so he had to climb the mountains to go out for his entrance examination for the Hangzhou No. 1 Middle School.
His talents enabled Fang to study at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Art where he received systematic training in traditional ink-wash painting.
Fang is noted for his depiction of figures and portraits on rice paper.
In 1963, his paper "How to Create Figure Painting on Rice Paper" was published and soon swept the country.
At that time, nearly everyone who learned traditional ink-wash painting had this book. It sold around 360,000 copies in its first year; there were additional printings.
Apart from his contribution to figure painting, Fang is also well known for his ability to recognize an artist's age and background through his or her artworks.
He once was given about 100 artworks by different artists and later correctly figured out just everyone's general age and background.
"The young people are more attuned to absorbing Oriental elements, while the amateur painters may be adept with a brush but lack solid technique," he says.
Asked which Chinese master impresses him most, he says it's Huang Binhong.
Fang encountered Huang in 1955 when he was a postgraduate student at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Art. At that time Huang was over 90 years old.
"Some classmates and I were honored to have a closer inspection of his paintings," Fang says.
To his surprise, Huang didn't literally depict what he saw before his eyes but what was mirrored in his heart.
"It was at that moment that I totally understood 'implicative painting'," Fang says. "An artist is not a craftsman. Rather than painting what already exists there, an artist should have a third eye in reflecting what he sees."
Fang is low key and has maintained a low profile over the years.
Although he is approaching 80, he never lacks for new ideas.
Without his firm support, the Shanghai Biennale would not have been realized.
"I heard the word 'biennale' long time ago, but I didn't know what it was about," Fang recalls. "Then I went to the Venice Biennale and was totally amazed at the varied expressions and concepts of art."
He wanted to see the same thing in Shanghai and worked to make it happen.
The 8th Shanghai Biennale will be held next year.
Fang Zengxian's solo exhibition
Date: through November 19
Address: 138 Nanshan Rd Police launch crackdown on vice, gambling Tom Qian
POLICE in Hangzhou have launched a crackdown on vice, including drugs trafficking, prostitution, pornography and gambling.
Pimps will be fined up to 150,000 yuan (US$21,962) and the entertainment venues where they work will face fines of up to 100,000 yuan. Operations will be suspended for three to six months.
Venues where illegal drugs are found will be closed for up to six months.
Owners who allow gambling machines on their premises will face a shutdown of three months and a fine of 50,000 yuan, or five times their illegal income. Those who are convicted will be banned from operating entertainment facilities.
Police say they will closely monitor KTV and dance clubs, bars, saunas and game rooms. They will check at random, publicize the names of violators and set up a database of blacklisted venues.
Violation of fire safety codes will face fines of up to 300,000 yuan.
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