Lighting his way

By Sun Shuangjie Source:Global Times Published: 2015-3-12 18:08:01

Chinese artist Ouyang Chun emerges from a life in exile


Recently, ShanghART Gallery has been made over into a colorful and cartoonlike realm using oil paintings created by Chinese artist Ouyang Chun.

Chinese artist Ouyang Chun poses in front of one of his works. Photos: Courtesy of the gallery



Entitled My Story, the exhibition showcases artworks that take inspiration from Ouyang's life in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, where he wandered around the city and countryside for nearly 10 years as a solitary painter, before he moved to Beijing in 2002.

"That is probably the most important period of my life," said the artist, who was born in Xi'an in 1974.

In 1994, Ouyang entered Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts to start a two-year painting course, however, after just one month, he chose to leave the campus and begin years of self-imposed exile and exploration.

In a painting entitled The Catcher in the Rye, the artist stands against the vast and beautiful scenery of farms and countryside; in Autism he stands alone as a silhouette appreciating the night views of the city; in Insistence (pictured below) the topless artist rides a motorcycle bearing canvas and paints; and in About Scavenger he walks on railways between cities.

 



This is the latest of a long line of series by the artist, whose works have been displayed in museums in China, Austria, Germany and Australia.

His paintings combine refined details and coarse textures, and always shine with an innocent spirit that bears comparison to children's paintings, and never fail to touch with their honesty and emotional content. Ouyang talked with the Global Times recently.

GT: Why did you quit college?

Oy: I believe that painting has nothing to do with college education. I believe painting is a thing about yourself, but not about classrooms or education. Everyone can paint without education.

GT: Did you read about art history? Who were your main influences?

Oy: Of course I read, I painted as I read art history books in Xi'an. I think every artist that has left their names in art history is remarkable, but those artists are divided into two categories: monumental artists who established a new style or ideology, and then the rest.

Reading art history makes me believe in art. Because the history of art is also a history of spirit, emotions and culture. Once you understand art history, you believe in art. That's why I painted for 10 years, even though none of my paintings were sold. I believe in the future of art.

GT: It's like believing in the existence of art.

Oy: It exists for no ordinary reason but the reason that makes people strong.

GT: So which style does your work belong to, if it had to be categorized?

Oy: Firstly, I think the reading of art needs the participation of everyone. Apart from some masters, I think in the development of contemporary art, every person's reading of art matters. The reading by artists themselves is a small part. So I don't think it's appropriate for me to categorize my works. To do so would not fit the working method of contemporary art, which is to encourage multiple discussions and encourage different understandings.

After all, when I paint, I don't pay much attention to the quality of my painting, I care more about the inner structure and method of an artist and his ultimate goal. Every artist has an aim to achieve in his art, so I think artworks are just one part of art. The life and experiences of artists are also important.

GT: What was your life like during the decade of wandering and painting?

Oy: Just like a wild dog, wandering around, searching for food and trying to make a living, looking for hope, becoming hopeless and then again looking for hope. It's like that. There was cruelness, coldness, poverty and hopelessness. I used to paint for a long time in a 6-meter-square room.

GT: Were you prepared for difficulties like this when you started painting?

Oy: To be honest, I've been prepared to experience such difficulties all my life, as no one would buy my work at that time, and I didn't expect my work to sell someday. But out of true love for art, I'm prepared to make sacrifices, I will paint whether I'm poor or rich, no matter if it's cold or hot. When I'm finishing a painting, I feel warm and comforted.

 



GT: Talk about the work My Romantic History (pictured above), which is a painting set in a small white room.

Oy: The words written on the painting and the wall tell my story in Xi'an. I have continued to develop the story into a 100,000-word novel named My Story.

I wanted to build a small room, which I named "room for souls." The words on the wall seem like the confessions of prisoners, which make me crazy. I like the plan, it took me more than 70 hours to write those characters, which also nearly drove me crazy.

GT: In the center of the painting there is a candle, why?

Oy: The candle in the painting and the bulb hanging above are both light sources. As a matter of fact, there are many forms of light in my works, including bulbs, candles, sunlight and a whiteness created out of fear, I think they are the themes of the exhibition. My story is about lighting up my world and keeping myself warm with art.

GT: There are art critics saying that you stand opposite to traditional art teaching. Do you agree?

Oy: No. Why bother standing opposite something that is wrong? We have to admit that there are many problems in China's art education, so it's meaningless to work against it. I think you just need to do something right, and there is no point in building relations between right and wrong. I think we should be pure in artistic motive, and art requires it.

Date: Until April 19, 10 am to 6 pm

Venue: ShanghART Gallery

Address: Bldg 16 and 18, 50 Moganshan Road 莫干山路50号16、18幢

Admission: Free

Call 6359-3923 for details



Posted in: Metro Shanghai, Culture

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