A New Look at Traditional Chinese Painting: Paintings by Wang Xiaojin

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Today in China there is a particularly acute struggle between Western values and national culture. Wang Xiaojin's work is a synthesis of traditional painting techniques with new techniques and motives. A New Look the artist clearly demonstrates that the national traditions of the Celestial Empire are not going to die. His paintings are a kind of agreement between past and future, East and West, proof that they can peacefully coexist with each other.

“Everything new is a well-forgotten old,” says a well-known proverb. And one of the best Chinese artists, Wang Xiaojin, has mastered it perfectly! Born in 1968 in the Chinese province of Nei-Mengu, he studied art at the Shandong Normal University, graduating in 1991. Wang Xiaojin specializes in Chinese painting and uses two of its traditional methods in his paintings: Gong bi (detailed images with a very thin pen) and Xie Yi (a more blurred, free style that seeks to express the spirit and essence of objects).

The artist says this about his mixed media: “I like experiments in creativity. I would like to show the viewer a new world of my imagination and, I hope, this is how I can achieve this … Even if someone likes my work and brings joy, it will already be very good, because art is needed to give people warmth and hope. In my work I would like to remain true to myself, and not be guided by other people's opinions … I paint with my heart."

Wang Xiaojin did not immediately turn to traditional Chinese painting, for a long time he was only interested in the art of Greece and Europe. In an interview, he said that: “Western culture interested me more than my own; Chinese ink painting seemed outdated, while oil painting was very fashionable. And now it makes me a little ashamed. After all, in fact, I am deeply proud of my roots and the fact that we are constantly growing in the artistic field, both in terms of skill and in terms of global recognition."

Today in China, traditional arts are truly experiencing a revival, with many authors returning "to the origins." For example, we wrote about the work of Gu Yingzhi, the queen of cats, who draws in the ancient technique of gohua.

Thanks to a new look at traditional art Gu Yingzhi and Wang Xiaojin have become very famous. Their exhibitions are held in many countries, and their work can be found in private collections around the world. You can see more artwork by artist Wang Xiaojin on his website www.wang-xiaojin.com