The landscape painting tradition is one of the most venerated art forms in China, and still maintains a relevant position in today’s world. Shan Shui, meaning “Mountains and Water", is the Chinese term for “landscape” and underpins a connection with the ancient Taoist philosophy, whose key principle emphasises harmony with the natural world. The man-nature duo is thus conceived as an inseparable entity and “Chinese depictions of nature are seldom mere representations of the external world. Rather, they are expressions of the mind and heart of the individual artists”.[1]
This exhibition brings together an eclectic selection of artworks by both emerging and well-established contemporary artists from China - Yao Jui-Chung, Pan Jian, He Sen, Cynthia Sah, Chen Che, Le Guo, Wang Ziling and Gao Xintong. Spanning different generations, from the 1950s to the 1990s, and living in different countries, the artists intertwine personal and collective memories to re-interpret this ancient pictorial language through fresh forms and concepts. The featured artworks range from figuration to abstraction, including different types of media - oil on canvas, ink on paper, acrylic on wood panels and marble sculptures.
Re-shaping and challenging the significance of the landscape genre in the constantly evolving contemporary art discourse, these creations evoke immersive archetypal realms while capturing our zeitgeist.
Dagmar Carnevale Lavezzoli is a contemporary Chinese art specialist, Co-Owner and Director of Hua and Crysalis, Curator of Out of the Blue at The Royal Palace Museum in Milan
[1] The Metropolitan Museum
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - Essays
Landscape Painting in Chinese Art
