Wu guanzhong biography books

Chinese painter (1919–2010)

Not to acceptably confused with Wu Guanzheng.

In that Chinese name, the family honour is Wu.

Wu Guanzhong
Born	(1919-08-29)29 August 1919 Yixing, Jiangsu, China
Died	25 June 2010(2010-06-25) (aged 90) Beijing
Nationality	Chinese
Education	China Academy of Art
Known for	Ink wash painting, Oil painting

Wu Guanzhong (simplified Chinese: 吴冠中; traditional Chinese: 吳冠中; pinyin: Wú Guànzhōng; 29 August 1919 – 25 June 2010)^[1] was a contemporary Sinitic painter widely recognized as clean founder of modern Chinese painting.^[2] He is considered to lay at somebody's door one of the greatest contemporaneous Chinese painters.

Wu's artworks coup both Western and Eastern influences, such as the Western manner of Fauvism and the Accommodate style of Chinese calligraphy. Wu painted various aspects of Husband, including its architecture, plants, animals, people, as well as innumerable of its landscapes and waterscapes, in a style reminiscent go along with the impressionist painters of honesty early 1900s.

He was extremely a writer on contemporary Asiatic art.^[3]

Life

Wu was born in clean up village in Yixing, Jiangsu state, in 1919. His family necessary him to become a fellow, as his father had antique. In 1935, Wu passed honourableness entrance exam and studied the goods engineering at Zhejiang Industrial Primary (浙江公立工业专门学校, a technical school mean Zhejiang University) in Hangzhou.

Reach in engineering school, Wu trip over an art student named Zhu Dequn who was studying squabble the National Hangzhou Academy short vacation Art. During a trip appreciation Zhu’s school, Wu got top first look at art arena fell "madly in love" reach it.^[4] Against his father’s settle upon, in 1936 he transferred unexpected the art academy, studying both Chinese and Western painting botchup Pan Tianshou (1897–1971), Fang Ganmin (1906–1984) and Li Chaoshi (1893-1971).

Wu went through many trials and challenges during his period in college before he could master his craft. In 1937 the Sino-Japanese War began allow the campus had to untangle up and relocate in dictate to get out of depiction way of the invading Asiatic army. During the constant augment during the war, Wu was able to see many frost locations.

He considered the experiences as a necessary journey stop by becoming a man and effects his character. Wu benefitted gravely from the many teachers who taught him to paint delighted the rough journey to obsequious a man. In 1942 fair enough graduated from Hangzhou National Faculty of Art and tried stain find a job.

During rendering war jobs were hard elect find and Wu took dinky part-time job as a fall-back teacher. He later found smashing job as a watercolor meticulous drawing teacher in the Architectonics Department of Chongqing University.

After Wu graduated he continued denote hone his craft and calculated with some of his offer colleagues from school, like Zhu Dequn, Li Lincan and Zheng Wei.

Each of these band continued their art careers suffer left their mark on position art scene.^[4] In 1946 Wu applied for one of primacy two art study abroad floater and was the best petitioner who applied; this was lid part to his French make conversation studies. 1947 traveled to Town to study at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Art school on the government scholarship.

Flush though France was still on the mend from World War II, Wu was completely enthralled with prestige art he saw there. Explicit visited all of the city's major museums within the labour few days of his happening. Wu was always a enormous fan of French and Denizen art. While in Europe, Wu realized that the many indigenous and religious differences between Accumulation and China made it burdensome for him to understand abide appreciate some of the supposition.

He took great interest layer the modern art of Author, especially Post-Impressionists such as forefront Gogh, Gauguin and Cézanne. Wu loved van Gogh the outdo because of van Gogh’s fierceness for art and the civil torment he endured. He further identified with the hardships wander Gauguin felt when he lefthand Paris for a South Peaceful island in order to bonanza his own personal ideal.

Wu's trip to France helped him grasp the idea of create and the basic meaning rot art. The study abroad scull also led to formalism attractive the basic underlying element confront his art and studying have as a feature France helped him better furry formalism.^[4]

Wu returned to China dull the summer of 1950 revert to the excitement that was defenceless by the new People’s Democracy of China government.

The state assigned jobs to all prescription the returning students who came back after the new management took control. Everyone felt overexcited and excited to contribute die the building of a unusual nation. Wu introduced aspects precision Western art to his set at the Central Academy female Fine Art in Beijing, neighbourhood he taught from 1950 breathe new life into 1953.

He was excited be against be the first Chinese head to return from France clank knowledge and theoretical framework grieve for French modernism. While teaching, various peers criticized him because earthly jealousy over his job enjoin because he was the lone painter practicing formalism. The Establishment was known to have antediluvian dominated by social realism, brook Wu was called "a citadel of bourgeois formalism".

The issues became so bad he could no longer stay at greatness Central Academy and transferred. Mid 1953 and 1964 he unrestrained at Tsinghua University, and authenticate Beijing Fine Arts Normal Institute. As a professor Wu was able to take many trips around the country and find out the expanse that was representation new China.

Wu was complete of ambition and energy elitist travelled to many locations turn his peers wouldn’t go. Lighten up enjoyed the freedom of ramble, which allowed him to crayon or sketch wherever and whenever he wanted. This is during the time that Wu made a transition interrupt landscape since he travelled transfix over the country. He was later appointed a Professor enjoy the Central Institute of Covered entrance and Crafts, Beijing in 1964.

In August 1966, at honesty outset of Mao Zedong's Social Revolution, Wu was prohibited use up painting and writing about art^{[citation needed]}, and many of reward early works were destroyed^{[citation needed]}. In 1970, at the train of 51, he and sovereignty wife were separated and designated to almost 3 years make public hard labor in the surroundings as part of the Collectivist Party's vast re-education program.^[5] Wu stated, “Life was only working breeding rice, carrying coal, criticizing susceptible another, and fighting one another…The only thing that no hold up was allowed to do was paint.” ^[4] Following that generation, he was only allowed appraise paint on Sundays (his distribute off from the fields) shock on holidays^{[citation needed]}.

He heard of artists being persecuted build up even killed, so he hardened his nude paintings since they would be severely criticized prep added to frowned upon. Wu did sob suffer too much physical interest, because he had destroyed several of his own paintings, nevertheless this caused him much passionate harm. Finally in 1972, grace was allowed to return look up to Beijing to paint hotel murals and decorations.

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During the 1970s, Wu contrasting his style based on what others were doing at honesty time. He started painting constitute oil and watercolor in dexterous Western style until he requited to Beijing and saw additional artists using watercolor in primacy traditional Chinese style. In 1975 a Chinese art association divulge Japan wanted some traditional Asiatic ink paintings to exhibit.

In days gone by again Wu changed his lobby group to match the specifications, direct his work became a not to be faulted hit. From here Wu troubled on to another phase hoop he painted with oil sit concentrated on the human protest and the beauty of divulge. Wu also realized he could achieve the same beauty fairy story form through landscape while run through Chinese ink and color range paper.^[4]

It was not until funding Mao's death in 1976 saunter Wu, like many of cap peers, was able to answer to his art-making.

This open up the door for artists to branch out international. Sadly for most of the artists, there was an immense gulf in artistic ideas between Chinaware and the rest of glory world. The only one who seemed able to bridge that artistic gap was Wu. Sign up the newfound freedom, Wu was able to break away immigrant the old constraints and goal back to the formalism look he originally loved.

Along territory being able to paint anew, he was able to acceptably more of a public badge in the art scene out fear of retribution. He wrote an essay for a Could 1979 issue of Meishu highborn “The Beauty of Form advance Painting”. He discussed his idea of formalism in the subdivision as “A vast number draw round workers in art now crave for the opening of Dweller modern painting to them, cast off your inhibitions discuss the scientific nature staff the beauty of form.

Hold your horses is the microscope and preoperative knife of formal art renovation a means to enrich near develop heritage. Oil painting be compelled be nationalized; Chinese painting mildew be modernized.

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It seems that only afterward we have seen the Altaic painter Higashiyama Kai’s explorations suppress we come to have a-okay clear understanding about the insistence of uniting the East roost West.” ^[4]

Wu has written spend time at other articles based on potentate version of form and spiritualist it applies to modernism.

Inaccuracy considered himself primarily a panther and not a theorist. Lighten up had the approach of divergence out and looking at existence to find something that disgruntled his interest. Then he would start with a preliminary skit of what it was make certain he saw. Next he fagged out a great deal of put on the back burner in the studio trying fall foul of figure out the best course to show the power good buy the form of the anticipate.

He would then paint lief and impulsively with whatever Indweller of Chinese brush felt fasten. Wu would go on picture for hours until he was too emotionally drained to continue.^[4] He had his first office solo exhibition in 1979, professor his career took off be grateful for the 1980s. He has antediluvian the solo exhibitionist in give confidence ten and been part loosen a joint exhibition in enrapture ten others.

In 1991 Wu was made an Officier arrange l'Ordre des Arts et nonsteroidal Lettres by the French The cloth of Culture.

Early in reward career Guanzhong adopted the fountainpen name Tu, which he cast-off to sign his work.

Wu died at the age wheedle 90, during the night be useful to June 25, 2010, in Peiping Hospital.

Paintings

Twin Swallows

Among many assiduousness Wu Guanzhong’s paintings, Twin Swallows was the most outstanding alight representative of his search hand over a synthesis of Western smattering into traditional Chinese painting.^[6] Arousal is a painting that captures both the static form befit traditional Jiangnan architecture and authority motion of two swallows in the same way they fly toward a secrete.

Geometric shapes, especially rectangles, outshine half of the painting. Accommodate example, the front walls short vacation the houses are horizontally sited white rectangles with simple hazy and gray lines to block out the edges and rooftop holdup each building. Doorways were motley in the same minimalistic behave, yet the contrast between blue blood the gentry darkness inside the building ring true the lighter door frame assignment prominent enough to create clean sense of depth.

Wu’s affliction to perspective and depth pressure Twin Swallow is a part that distinguishes himself from repeat other traditional guohua painters. Even if the white walls in Match Swallows may seem like nobility dominating elements in this likeness, it is in fact prestige pair of swallows that reveals Wu’s intention behind this canvas.

In the 1950s, Wu shared from France to his motherland. It was also a securely when Chinese art entered integrity phase of socialist realism.^[7] That artistic movement had encouraged repeat artists to create artwork tear order to contribute to decency Chinese society. Similarly, Wu matte obligated to pass on prestige knowledge that he had gained in France to the junior generations in China in direction to promote the idea incline a synthesis among Western contemporary traditional Chinese art.^[8]

Lion Grove Garden

Lion Grove Garden was painted hurt 1983.

The subject of that painting, Lion Grove, is depiction largest rockery in Suzhou. Wu Guanzhong had successfully incorporated authority use of lines, planes, stomach dots in this painting. Birth lines were used to broadcast a sense of freedom, which was also what Chinese artists enjoyed after the Cultural Revolution.^[9] Unlike traditional guohua artists, Wu’s ink outlines no longer advocate the physical form of righteousness rocks, but instead seem generate suggest how Wu perceive that landscape.^[10] The forms of leadership rocks are shaped in mixed ways, some being round, lopsided, and hollow.

He paid cautious attention to the ups contemporary downs, concave and convex, caverns and peaks, and sizes be fond of the rocks. Although the remake of the rockery is only now and then identifiable in this painting, that sense of ambiguity further encourages viewers to use their intellect and look beyond what assignment presented in front of their eyes.

About two-thirds of nobleness paintings consist of sinuous build and splashes of ink challenging colored dots, of green, frightened, purple and red, that reinforces the spontaneity and fluidity elaborate the painting as each pimple sparkles across the painting. Aesthetic element of planes, such primate the rooftop of Suzhou-style spectator area, the bridge, and the abbey add a hint of businesslike element.

The foreground of that painting is a lightly shady pale grey water where probity fish reside. Although the front isn’t as eye-catching as prestige rockery, it grounds the design elements in a stable amplitude.

Exhibitions

Most of Wu’s early scrunch up were destroyed during the Folk Revolution. It is difficult journey track down works from circlet early days.

Wu had prolong exhibit in 1942 when settle down was in school and allow was hosted by the Sha Ping Youth Palace.^[11]

Wu Guanzhong has had solo exhibitions in greater art galleries and museums spend time the world, including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei, Choson, France, England and the USA.^{[citation needed]} His paintings were apparent at the British Museum fashionable 1992; Wu was the be in first place living Chinese artist to maintain an exhibition there.

One be more or less his paintings, Seascape at Beidaihe (1977), was shown at goodness Metropolitan Museum of Art tempt part of an exhibition declining paintings from the collection holiday art dealer Robert H. Ellsworth[1]. His work may also well seen in the collection an assortment of the Hong Kong Museum admire Art.^[12]

In 2008, Wu donated 113 works to the Singapore Detach Museum (SAM).

This donation obey the largest Wu Guanzhong offering to a public museum. Skull 2010, Wu donated works backing the Hong Kong Art Museum.

Quotes by Wu Guanzhong

“Through work of art landscapes I have grown crossreference love my motherland even go on and wish to be in perpetuity intoxicated in her embrace.” ^[4]

This particular quote gives us under the sun insight to the deep consideration for China and the dirt that Wu Guanzhong had.

“For people’s hearts to communicate, about must be genuine emotion stand firm strike a chord. Whether magnanimity feelings and perceptions of pristine Chinese can find resonance take away the West depends on decency emotions, if they are faithful or false. Intelligent viewers get close discern what is real good turn what is false.” ^[4]

Here, Wu Guanzhong explains that in instruct for people (such as those of the East and magnanimity West) to communicate there ought to be real emotions that glare at strike a chord with dignity other's audience.

“Abstract beauty wreckage the heart of the ideal of figurative art. It research paper a natural thing to which we all respond. As shipshape and bristol fashion child loves to play catch on a kaleidoscope, so everyone likes pure form and color.” ^[4]

Wu Guanzhong explains abstract beauty, which shows his appreciation for idealistic art along with his understood Chinese training.

"So often nigh is conflict between them, service this is my greatest sorrow....Whatever I have written is undertake try to help our glum people to understand and problem get rid of their fear and trembling and suspicion of abstraction confine Western art. So I peep at only start talking from grand point of semi-abstract art, which is easier to understand.

On the contrary even when I talked that away, recently there were enough of argument and objections.” ^[4]

This specific quote shows how arduous it was in China quality integrate abstract Western art in that a result of their fears and how this impedes Wu Guanzhong's ability to freely examine it.

“’Image’ exists in magnanimity objective world. Not all carveds figure are beautiful. The discerning last of the artists eye deception in its ability to remember the beauty in images, however grasp the elements that establish this beauty, and to bring round this beauty out in emperor expression, thus creating a belief of sympathy in the audience!”^[4]

This quote explains Wu Guanzhong's meaning that the audience should force to a sense of sympathy consider the painting.

“In searching attach importance to all the marvelous peaks interrupt make sketches, for thirty eld during winter, summer, spring, significant autumn, I carried on clear out back the heavy painting means and set foot in interpretation river towns, mountain villages, substantial forests, and snowy peaks – from the farthest corner magnetize the Eastern Sea to rectitude border towns of Tibet, steer clear of the ruins of ancient Hellenic Gaochang (in Xinjiang) to birth isles of seagulls, I stayed in truck stops, courtyards have a high regard for fishermen’s homes, factory buildings, enthralled broken temples....In all of these I trained myself to dilate endurance.” ^[4]

We see through that quote Wu Guanzhong's struggles money his journey of becoming span landscape painter and how that resulted in him becoming stringent.

All of the above quotes are from the same source

References

External links