Artists from 113 countries painted colorful pictures of civilized exchanges.
Brightening the whole of heaven (Chinese Painting) Wang Erping (China)
The Great Silk Road (oil painting) Naila Amadova (Azerbaijan)
The future in hand (oil painting) vasco Tashkov (North Macedonia)
Building a Community of Human Destiny (Chinese Painting) Li Hongjun (China)
Taiping Shengshi (Chinese Painting) Shen Peng (China)
One of the Shared Colors (Acrylic Painting) George Perucaqi (Ecuador)
The colorful world is endless (print) Hu Hongbo (China)
Share weal and woe in the same boat (Chinese painting) Liao Qin (China)
Xiaying Trier — — Marx’s Hometown (Chinese Painting) Xiao Han (China)
Silk Road (Oil Painting) Viacheslav Liuke (Kazakstan)
World Harmony (Comprehensive Materials) Natalie Mayer (France)
【 Artistic conception 】
Through the layers of veil at the entrance of the exhibition hall, the number "8" interwoven by color and light and shadow is very symbolic. On the morning of August 30th, a colorful picture of civilization exchange was slowly unfolded by artists from 113 countries around the world. The 8th Beijing, China International Art Biennale was grandly opened in the presence of more than 500 Chinese and foreign guests, and landed in the China Art Museum, which was a grand prelude to this year’s National Day art presentation. The Beijing Biennale is co-sponsored by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Beijing Municipal People’s Government and China Artists Association, with the theme of "Colorful World and Common Destiny". The exhibition will last until September 20th.
1. "China fulcrum" of world painting and sculpture
In the world-class international biennale, since its birth in 2003, the Beijing Biennale has always maintained an independent posture with the contemporary extension of painting and sculpture as its exhibition feature, and has achieved initial results in promoting the common solution of some international art problems, which is the contribution of China art to the world. The revival of easel painting in the world can make contemporary art creation consciously enter a rational and peaceful development track, instead of just being proud of the variation and absurdity advertised by avant-garde art, thus realizing the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional painting and sculpture. Swedish artists who participated in the exhibition once said: "China has established a fulcrum for world art. Due to the intervention of the Beijing Biennale, the global contemporary art leaning towards the United States has gradually become balanced."
2. Arousing international resonance with original academic themes
From 45 countries in the first session to 113 countries in this session, the increase in the number of participating countries is not only a numerical increase, but also reflects the growing international appeal of China fine arts.
The theme is a flag of our exhibition. In the planning process, Beijing Biennale focuses on global relevance to arouse international resonance. From innovation, contemporariness and regionalism, humanistic concern of contemporary art, color and Olympics, ecology and homeland, future and phenomenon, memory and dream, Silk Road and world civilization, to the eighth session of Colorful World and Common Destiny, all the exhibitions have demonstrated a consistent artistic responsibility, and the last two sessions have paid more attention to echoing China’s national policy and issued artistic appeals for the common development of mankind. These original themes have been responded by artists all over the world, and have become a good carrier to expound China’s cultural ideas.
Third, the artist’s perception of the community of human destiny
Objectively speaking, this year’s theme is grand and the creation difficulty is higher than previous years. In order to help the creation of Chinese and foreign artists, we have done a lot of work in sorting out the reference of creative materials. On the other hand, artists spend a lot of energy on theme creation without any bonuses and incentives, and some people close their doors to thank guests for working overtime to catch up with the progress during the Spring Festival; Some eat and live in the studio for months on end; Some people are so forgetful when creating that they fall off the high scaffolding … … During this period, there were many stories that moved and even worried our organizers. The work presented to the audience today is the artist’s understanding and reflection on the community of human destiny, which requires a deep understanding of national development and global governance, and focuses on the great process of pursuing peaceful development and sharing prosperity in today’s world.
In ancient times, "Noah’s Ark" in biblical stories and "Together in the same boat" in China’s idioms both contained the meaning of human destiny sharing weal and woe. Liao Qin’s large-scale theme work "Through thick and thin, share weal and woe" has four drafts, and it has been polished repeatedly for 120 days and nights, looking for feelings little by little and one by one. To this end, the author and the planning team of the American Association have spent a lot of effort. The main body of the painting depicts a ship of destiny bearing the common aspirations of mankind, and the "sailors" from five continents are United and struggling to paddle and strive to reach the other side of the ideal. The oars set off waves, and it seemed as if you could hear loud trumpets in your ears. At the bottom of the picture, a group of workers are busy repairing bridges and paving the way. That is China’s "integration" with the world. High-speed rail with China characteristics is coming from a distance, full of expectation and hope. The latest scientific and technological achievements of human beings in heaven and earth, such as artificial intelligence, aerospace and deep sea exploration, are reflected respectively. The picture also shows the harmonious blend of people and animals, which makes the whole work more layered and dynamic.
The core of building a community of human destiny is peaceful development and win-win cooperation. Li Hongjun’s large-scale works are directly titled "Building a Community of Human Destiny", and the pictures show the charm and linear beauty of Chinese painting in the form of pen and ink, and show the grand momentum of the works with the help of the experience of traditional murals. The painter interprets the theme of creation through the origin of human development, the relationship between man and nature, and the present situation of scientific and technological development, showing the happy picture of people all over the world sharing the same breath and destiny, and drawing the grand blueprint of the community of human destiny — — Work together to build a peaceful, peaceful, prosperous, open and beautiful world.
Marx’s idea of community laid a solid theoretical foundation for the concept of community of human destiny. 2018 is the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth. The bronze statue of Marx created by China sculptor Wu Weishan is presented to the hometown of great men, and it is located in the downtown square for people to admire. Xiao Han, a returnee painter, created Xiaying Trier — — Marx’s hometown. The focus of the picture is the bronze statue of Marx standing in the sunlight, and the flying dove of peace represents the common aspiration of mankind. In the background treatment, the works blur the nearby urban buildings, express the infinite power and far-reaching significance of Marx’s thought in a vast space, and the massiness and vicissitudes of Trier’s ancient castle in the left rear are metaphors of the time bearing of the spread of Marx’s philosophical thought around the world.
The colorful world is composed of different countries and civilizations, especially the current human civilization, so Tao Hong’s Eye in the Sky selects 1650 cultural and commercial symbols from all over the world and paints them as an "eye" in the universe by oil painting — — Overlooking the colorful world of perceiving the earth as a community of human destiny. Hu Hongbo’s Life in a Colorful World selects the most representative buildings of human civilization as elements, and combines the smiling faces of today’s human beings beyond age, gender, nationality and identity with the outline of the world map to form a picture, in which people of all countries feel at home and their yearning for a peaceful and beautiful life suddenly emerges.
4. Pluralistic flowers bloom brilliantly on the Silk Road.
From Chinese and foreign works, we can see that the "seeds" originally sown for the convenience of trade are constantly growing, and colorful and diverse flowers of civilization are blooming, whether on land or on the sea. We are pleasantly surprised to find that each culture has contributed its own characteristics, while at the same time absorbing the advantages of other cultures.
The Great Silk Road, written by Azerbaijani painter Naila Amadova, reflects the prosperity of the ancient East. The ancient Silk Road, like the camel caravan generate walking in the Gobi desert, shows tenacious vitality. The Road to Weaving the Future, written by the Greek painter Florentia Oyi Konomi Du, combines traditional and modern techniques, selects and integrates various elements of eastern and western costumes, architecture and even "flying in the sky and swimming in the water", and focuses on the great proposition of "where are human beings going?"
The French painter Natalie Mayer’s Harmony in the World is a typical one who loves oriental art forms and naturally turns them into his own creative techniques. Spatial focus perspective, subjective scattered perspective and decorative painting language with China traditional flavor are perfectly combined. His creation was inspired by the sunset scene observed during China’s sketching. The combination of the rose red in the water and the carpet adds a colorful luster to the whole picture.
China artists describe more the important path of building a community of human destiny — — "Belt and Road". Huang Yongbin’s "This Near, That Long-term" splashed with color, combined with impressionist elements and composition styles, and took the global economic system as the creative thinking, reflecting the important role of the "Belt and Road" in the integration and interconnection of modern economy. Sun Xiangyang’s Dialogue expresses the elements of traditional Chinese painting and western modern painting in the same frame, and narrates the "amazing" moments that happened and are happening on the Silk Road, forming a special visual space.
V. Humanistic care for the common problems faced by mankind
If the artistic scene is the reappearance of various living situations of human beings, then the spiritual communication is the necessary condition to agree with the concept of the community of human destiny. Man is the best carrier of civilized exchange and mutual learning. Ordinary but vivid ordinary people’s lives can best arouse universal emotional resonance.
Yemeni painter Radfan Ahlmer Hamedi’s Edge shows the threat of war by carefully depicting a little girl in danger with big eyes. Behind the girl is a beautiful land that can’t be reached, and in front is an abyss that can’t be crossed. There is only some water in her bottle, and she is on the edge of the battlefield. She’s still waiting. Can she survive? Will someone come to save her? From her eyes, we can clearly see the desire for peace and stability, and every viewer’s heart will be tightly gripped.
The Contrast of Life by the Philippine painter Teodi Boyli R. Perez reflects the phenomenon and dilemma of the widening gap between the rich and the poor. The colorful scenery of high-rise buildings in the painting occupies the skyline, which is in sharp contrast with the rows of "diaojiao buildings" in the slums near the water. The vivid backs of the two generations of painters who "guide" the viewer into the picture are unforgettable.
Some eco-oriented critical themes have not given up their aesthetic value, such as Invisible Man by Egyptian painter Mohammad khalid mohammed omran. The picture takes animals and plants and other natural creatures as elements, overlapping and overlapping, and the images of giraffes, turtles, monkeys, crows, fish and sparse vegetation in the picture are the artist’s re-creation and deconstruction of the image elements in nature. The animals in the picture form a group of migrating teams, which also implies that their homes have been destroyed by human beings, echoing the title of the work. Artists insinuate human beings with animals in nature, calling on us to care for the beauty of nature and observe the pain of nature with our hearts.
The breadth of more than 600 works in 113 countries is almost impossible to reflect the overall situation with the above-mentioned more than a dozen works. The significance of this small "catalogue list" is to provide some exhibition tips. The real pleasure of viewing the exhibition is still to be obtained at the scene of the art museum. The diversity of world civilization is the humanistic foundation of the community of human destiny. After 16 years of operation, Beijing Biennale has become an "artistic bridge connecting the East and the West, weaving the cultural ties between tradition and modernity". Now, she is gathering the global art power to build a community of human destiny, which makes us truly feel that the world is colorful because of art and human beings are common because of fate.
(Author: Tao Qin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Group of China Artists Association)