Chen Danqing speaks at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

Photo: Nick Muzyczka

By Nick Muzyczka

A selection of the works of influential Chinese artist Chen Danqing has recently opened at the Original Song Gallery. Chen's works are a powerful rendering of a specific way of life. The paintings focus on scenes from Tibetans' daily lives, exposing a culture with an intense relationship to its environment.

These works have come to be regarded as a landmark in Chinese realistic painting. Created in the late 1970s, the Tibet Series became recognized as a step away from the official art that had dominated Chinese art in previous years. Chen explores naturalistic settings, devoid of moral undertones.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Chen divulged that he considers his Tibet Series as more of a historical artifact, and one that did not comment on contemporary society, "both the feelings and the passions belong to that time. My strong feelings for Tibet have gone away but the place is always in my mind."

As an artist, Chen is expressive, compositionally strong and displays a subtle control over color. The latter is especially evident in Tibetan Group Oil Painting (1980), in which several Tibetan women sit huddled, amid a throng of furs and blankets, taking care of children. The work is also a fine example of Chen's ability to paint cloth; here it is imbued with an organic quality that augments the warmth and safety present in this exhibition of motherhood.

The same level of skill is discernible in Going to Town II (1980), a majestic portrait, whose subjects have a look of innocent, dignified contentment. Chen paints in a style inspired by European oil painting tradition. He makes use of earthy reds, brown and yellows to invest his Tibetan compositions with a rustic, Arcadian feel.

Yang Qi, a local amateur artist visiting the exhibition, believes that Chen's work captures the essence of the Tibetan way of life. "I think in his painting you can see a kind of struggle between humans and nature. You can also see a respect for life that is very powerful," she said.

Roaring into the Wilderness shows a young Tibetan woman dressed in yak fur, standing in the foreground of a sweeping plateau, populated by yaks. Her head is raised to the sky and she is howling to the heavens like a wolf. This scene, set under an impressively vast sky, presents the human being simply, as an integrated part of a wild, yet accommodating, natural environment.

More than half of the exhibition is given over to pencil sketches. As a group, they do not impress to the same degree as the oil paintings, with many too rough to generate much feeling. There are, however, a number of gems here too. Chen is particularly good at implying space within compositionally complex structures.

Peng Xiaoling, chairwoman of the Original Song Gallery, said that Chen's works are "the most classic representatives of the realism school." She pointed out that Chen personally selected the works displayed in the exhibition which comprises 10 landscapes, 10 portrayals of human figures and 10 sketches.

Going to Town II print by Chen Danqing.

Photo: Courtesy of Original Song Gallery

Unfortunately, the majority of the displayed works are reproductions. Regarding this issue, Peng said: "His paintings are scattered all over the world, so it is very difficult to collect his works. One of his famous paintings, Going to Town II, has been auctioned for 38 million yuan and people seldom get to see the original."

Although the opening ceremony attracted a large crowd of supporters, Chen is unsure who will come to view his work. "The young people may not be interested in it, because they have their cameras to record their lives and the way they see things. At that time, I only had my paint brushes to record what I saw."

Date: Until May 24, 9 am to 5:30 pm

Venue: Original Song Gallery, E4/F, Building 3, 731 Hongxu Road

原曲ç"»å»Š 虹许路731号西郊é'«æ¡¥åˆ›æ„å›­åŒº3 号楼东4楼

Tel: 6135-9208, 6135-9205

Admission: Free