Beijing show for artist who says it’s never too late
Print Edition
WANG Zhenfeng started painting just 18 months ago, but is now about to hold an exhibition in a famous Beijing art district.
An online post comparing her work to that of Zhou Chunya, one of the most renowned of living Chinese painters, brought her talent into the public eye. If it hadn’t been for the online attention, it is hard to imagine that the villager from east China’s Shandong Province would soon be showing her work in the nation’s capital.
When her oil paintings of peach blossom were spotted online, there were many comments comparing her work to Zhou’s.
Although there was one key difference — Wang’s paintings sell for 200 yuan (US$30) each, while one by Zhou fetched a staggering 5 million yuan in 2013.
“There are too many people coming to buy my paintings these days,” Wang told the Fujian Daily News last week. “It’s too much pressure, and I cannot even concentrate on painting right now.”
Before she became an online celebrity, Wang was just an ordinary resident of Maerqiu Village in Pingdu City. She toiled over a field of more than 1.3 hectares while also working in a small shoe factory.
Early last year, Wang’s daughter, an art teacher, returned to the village and launched a campaign called “Everyone is an artist.” She encouraged her mother to pick up the paintbrush.
But the idea sounded far-fetched to Wang. “How do you expect a farmer to become a painter?” she laughed.
But her curiosity was piqued, so she agreed to several weeks of tuition. Shortly after, she finished her first painting — a bucket in her house. The piece eventually sold for 200 yuan online to an artist from Hebei Province.
“I never thought paintings could help me make money,” Wang said.
In addition to the income, Wang also found happiness in her new hobby.
“In the past, I thought a person’s life was all about getting married, having babies and raising children, which was quite tedious,” she said. “Painting enlightened me.”
While painting gave Wang an outlet for expression, it also brought taunts. Her coworkers at the shoe factory mocked her, saying she “must be daydreaming.”
“If you are a painter, why are you still in the factory?” they said.
But Wang did not let it bother her. Her life began to revolve around painting and she would even get up in the middle of the night if inspiration struck.
Her work centers around subjects that evoke the countryside — endless fields, playful dogs running in a village, even farm machinery.
“There are so many lively subjects in rural China, and I have painted only a few,” she said.
In March, she began painting the village’s peach blossom and pictures posted online soon drew comparisons with Zhou.
“I am hosting my own art exhibition at Beijing’s 798 Art District in September, and I hope I can turn out the best work possible,” she said.
Wang said she hopes more people from rural China can realize their dreams like she did, “no matter how late the day.”
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