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Foreword
At the beginning of his painting career, Xu Yanzhou adopted a
realistic approach like other oil painters. Despite the fact that
the subject of his works is depicted in a realistic manner, Xu is
not content with just making photo-like replicas.
Xu mainly paints portraits of women, usually just their heads or
half portraits. He captures their different facial expressions－child-like
innocence, subtle expressions, a captivating smile or sophisticated
charm. The emotion in these faces is always the centre of attention.
In fact, Xu Yanzhou wants to paint the kind of beauty commonly found
only in Chinese women. His subjects often tie their hair up in
scarves of typical Chinese designs and colours. This obviously
reveals the intensity of his love for Chinese culture.
Nevertheless, the figures in his paintings are set against a variety
of backgrounds. There are farms, blossoming trees, the fantasy world
of space, the legendary phoenix, a surrealistic setting with hares
in birds’ cages or fishes swimming with butterflies……Xu juxtaposes
creatures from nature in unnatural compositions. This reveals the
artist’s sentiments towards the beauty of nature.
The works of Xu Yanzhou are realistic and yet also expressionistic.
He is a master of different painting techniques. His paintings are
not just abstract works; they express more than words are able to
do. Xu uses his realistic paintings to convey abstract concepts,
often challenging the audience with questions－Will
the strong always remain strong? Are the weak destined to be weak
forever? Can man go against nature? These are all questions that Xu
wishes his viewers to consider.
We are very grateful for the support that so many friends have shown
to this exhibition. Xu Yanzhou’s paintings have special meanings－worthy
of your appreciation and to wonder.
Yeung Chun-tong
Director
University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong
11 July 2008
The World as Seen through the Eyes of Xu Yanzhou
Xu Yanzhou has developed his own style of realism, sometimes
referred to as “surreal-realism”. His paintings are fresh and
insightfully challenging. The viewer’s first impressions are
pleasant and inviting. The invitation is to share Xu’s impressions
of everyday sights, whether in China or in North America. Once one
accepts that invitation and enters the world of his art, there are
always important comments and interpretations of our modern
existence there for our serious reflection. His subject matter can
be seen by all, but Xu takes us beyond our casual observations to
inspect interactions of different aspects of the modern world. He
presents an optimistic perspective on everyday encounters, leading
us into an area of hope and excitement about the future and away
from the hardships of life so often seen in the work of other
artists representing the same cultural milieu.
From Xu’s beginnings in Shandong Province on the eastern coast of
north-central
China comes a cultural perspective which he has maintained as he has
developed from a young painter in the beautiful coastal city of
Qingdao and the cities of Ji’nan and Beijing to an experienced and
perceptive artist living and painting in North America. Xu’s early
work was greatly influenced by French, Russian and other European
realists, with a touch of traditional Chinese traditionalism. At the
tender age of 21, his work brought him acclaim as he earned broad
recognition within the prestigious Chinese Artists?Association in
Beijing. As he then continued his evolving journey as a master
artist, his work began to reflect the more exquisite techniques of
the ancient Chinese mural paintings of the Jin Northern Dynasties of
the third through the fifth centuries, also being influenced by the
Dutch masters Van Eyck, Bruegel, Vermeer and Holbein.
His years in Regina, Canada provided an opportunity to broaden his
scope, and to incorporate many modern ideas into his work. Moving to
the United States, studying for his MFA at Tulane University and
painting in Colorado and New York have provided him with the
opportunity to expand his work even further. But to say that he has
developed as an artist in the sense of youth developing into adults
would be totally misleading, for his work has shown maturity and
insight from his early emergence as an artist. When Xu was just 19,
his paintings were exhibited in the National Art Museum of China in
Beijing and appeared on Chinese Central Television. At 21, he was
the only artist in China to have two oil paintings selected from
tens of thousands for the prestigious Sixth National Art Exhibition,
at which he won the excellence award.
Xu Yanzhou is a very perceptive and sensitive artist. He carefully
observes the world around him, paying special attention to the
relationships between people, places and items, both real and
perceived. He has a positive and optimistic outlook on life. In his
work, he allows us to share in his observations and introduces us to
interpretations that we might have missed without his help. Xu
paints beautiful subjects and themes in their own environment, often
superimposing images that seem to be out of place or time, but which
provide us with his view of the relationships that are so important
in his world. He might provide us with views of a woman’s portrait,
spring flowers, snowy winter landscapes, birds and insects of
summer, or the fruits harvested in autumn united in disparate ways,
yet it all fits and makes sense. One might see in the background of
his paintings a summer plant growing in a snowy landscape, or a
large egg in a birdcage suspended in mid air. Through Xu’s
intellect, talent and imagination one can always find a perceptive
way of viewing the world that is both enlightening and intriguing.
Xu constantly displays sensitivity, accuracy and an amazing
attention to detail in his work. His often use of brilliant color
and interesting subjects provides him with important tools to tell
his story, to describe the reality of what he sees around him. His
subjects seem to step right off the canvas, inviting us to join in
new experiences and challenging our own intellects.
Xu is a talented artist who is not afraid to adopt a different and
fresh approach. He has received wide recognition for the quality of
his work, and his paintings can be found in many important art
museums and galleries around the world. Those who have his paintings
in their private collections are very fortunate indeed.
Donald O. Wells
President Emeritus, University of Regina
Former President, Mount Allison University
Introduction
In an art world dominated by abstract or conceptual avant-garde art,
there are still artists for whom realism is their main means of
expression. While classical realism is often labeled and
misunderstood as being “cliché” or “antique”, there is nevertheless
innovation among realist painters, not simply the pure depiction of
objects. Realist painters are also modernist painters; realism is
just the language that they choose. Realist paintings in China have
undergone many developments, especially regarding its social
functions. Xu Yanzhou has been searching for a style with which he
can express his perception of the world. The technique he uses is
realist, but the ideas conveyed, the composition, structure and
colour in his paintings are complex and close to being surrealist in
nature. Although he works in western media and techniques, Xu
believes that the ultimate beauty in art lies in xieyi,
literally, “drawing meaning”, which is the essence of traditional
Chinese painting. In contrast, Xu, therefore, brings together the
features of Western and Chinese art.
Western realism appears in modern Chinese paintings at the beginning
of the 20th century. This was a radical and transitional period when
there was a re-evaluation of traditional feudal ideas in Chinese
society and culture, and new ideas replaced the old. The May Fourth
movement of 1919 furthered the revolution in Chinese literature and
art. The introduction of Western art indicated the direction in
which Chinese art should go. At the same time, Chinese students who
had travelled abroad to study art in the 1920s and 1930s, were
returning with new knowledge and ideas with which they hoped to
transform the existing traditional language of classical Chinese
art. Both realism and modernism movements in Western art influenced
Chinese artists, and they each had their own supporters. A debate
regarding which of the two styles should be advocated in China
ensued. Due to the social and political conditions in China, realism
became the main trend, although ironically modernism was widely
adopted in the West. Dissatisfied with the apparent detachment from
real life of Chinese literati paintings, it was believed that
realism could enlighten people. Another factor is the rise of
realism in China is that art teaching followed the example of the
Soviet Union in which realism was widely practiced. During the
Cultural Revolution, realism was used as a tool of political
propaganda and became an official language of the government. From
its beginnings in China, realism has never had a solely aesthetic
value; it has always embodied political or social needs.
Xu Yanzhou has always sought themes which may be related questions
about the meaning of life, through which to paint his life
experiences. As he has experienced different changes, his choice of
topics and even styles has also changed. When Xu was in high school,
he painted in an impressionistic style. Vivid brushstrokes and
complementary hues tell of Xu’s ambition to be an artist of the
future. In China, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, stylistic
freedom was restricted due to contextual and institutional factors.
Xu could not escape theme influences and his style gradually shifted
from an impressionistic one to a more realistic one around 1984,
which also marks the beginning of his career as a realist artist. Xu
began to study at the Shandong Academy of Arts in 1979, and after
graduating in 1983, remained there to teach. It was a time when
realism and traditional Western art techniques were widely taught at
academic art schools, following the Soviet system. Xu’s change in
style was partly due to the social and political constraints on the
artist at that moment, and the artists?great admiration for some
Western realist artists, especially the French and of course,
Russian masters.
“Chatting among the Yimeng Villagers” is typical of Xu Yanzhou’s
paintings before 1984. Xu was interested in the everyday life of
rural residents and their relationship to nature. More than a mere
static image of villagers chatting after a day of work, Xu wants to
show the beauty of rural villagers who earn their living by physical
labour. Following the Cultural Revolution, scenes of rural realism
became popular in China in the 1980s. Artists were drawn to the
simplicity of peasant life instead of politics; paintings as pure
representation of reality instead of as a tool of politicians. The
French master of realism Gustave Courbet (1819 – 1877), was no doubt
an influence on Xu at this time. Courbet painted the harsh life of
peasants and depicted nature from
direct observation including all its flaws. Another realist French
painter, Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848 – 1884) and Russian social
realist painters such as Valentin Serov (1865 – 1911) and Arkady
Plastov (1893 – 1972) were also important influences on Xu. He
wished to depict pure human emotions, without social contradiction
or disharmonies. During this period Xu painted with raw brushstrokes
and an earthy toned palette. The figures have a blurry contour
suggesting the influence of Impressionism.
After Xu Yanzhou began teaching at the Shandong Academy of Arts, his
style had begun to evolve from an impressionistic one to a classical
and realist one. “The Small Mountain Village” shows evidently this
shift. The detailed depiction of the wood grain of the door to the
wrinkles on the little girl’s clothes shows a more refined and
delicate technique. Brushstrokes are no longer as coarse as before.
The depiction of light from the exterior shows the influence of the
Flemish artist Jan Vermeer (1632 – 1675) on Xu. Vermeer painted
mostly interior domestic scenes of daily life. Xu is fascinated with
Vermeer’s use of light in interior settings and the reflection of
light from objects. The single unchanging element in Xu’s paintings
is his subject, which remains rural China but which now contains
more personal and individual depictions of emotion. The audience is
captivated by the gaze of the little girl, who is simultaneously
attracted by our gaze. Her trouser legs are casually folded showing
an indifference to the way that she dresses, but this is actually
the intelligently arranged composition and intention of the artist
and it can be seen in a number of his drawings of children.
This marks the beginning of Xu painting the “yi” or “meaning” of the
composition, instead of simply depicting figures and landscapes when
he incorporated the twenty-four terms of the Chinese solar calendar
into his paintings. The twenty-four solar terms developed in ancient
times matches particular astronomical events and reflects natural
phenomena such as climate change in China, serving as a reference
for agricultural activities. Xu is interested in depicting changes
in the nature even if they are hardly noticed by ordinary people. He
is moved by the passage of time, the cycle of life and death in
nature and in man, which has become a recurrent theme in his recent
works. His series “Earth Awakening I – VI” depicts landscapes
covered with snow. “Earth awakening”, jingzhe, also means the
awakening of hibernating insects. Traditional Chinese farming
culture believes that during jingzhe thunderstorms will
wake hibernating insects, and it is a time when the weather becomes
warmer. In these paintings, snow white ground and brownish straw
huts, wilting branches and newly sprouting grasses create a strong
contrast between textures and colours, and tell a peaceful and quiet
scene of a land reborn after a frosty winter.
Xu Yanzhou first went to North America in 1991 when he took up the
post of a visiting professor at Luther College in the University of
Regina, Canada. Going to North America was an important milestone in
Xu’s life and his art. His experience of life in the West inspired
his art in terms of style and subject matter. Xu did not give up
painting scenes of rural life, his inspiration in China since around
1987, but his paintings become brighter and more vivid. In addition
to a broader palette, Xu’s compositions also changed. He began to
paint detailed female portraits, which is not a common format for
typical drawings of the human figure. Usually portraits depict the
subject to the chest or waist. Xu focuses on his subjects’ facial
expressions. Sometimes the background is a typical rural household
scene, while there are some unrealistic settings as well. Typical of
Xu’s work during this period is his depiction of a girl wearing
traditional Chinese cotton padded clothes with floral prints, her
head bound with a scarf. Although the clothing is traditional, the
girl wears many modern accessories, which are also evident in the
background: a watch, a ring, a Pepsi can. Following his arrival in
North America Xu has become interested in globalization and
modernization. Modernization in suburbia shows how powerful
globalization has been in penetrating China through consumerism.
Xu’s works also tell of the artist’s culture shock. Xu wishes to
express his admiration for the simple life of peasants and his love
of nature through his art; on the other hand, he also tries to
express his concern for the fate of the human race in the face of
globalization, modernization and environmental problems.
In addition to the co-existence of modern and traditional elements
in his paintings, Xu Yanzhou also plays with symbolism and
displacement in works of this period. Plants, flowers, animals such
as beetles, birds, cows and horses, or food such as eggs and corn,
some having reproductive meanings, appear in his paintings of women
and children as Xu explores the themes of sexuality and love. The
artist uses metaphors and similes to express multiple themes. In
“The Dream East of Palm Beach”, a palm tree is growing amid the
winter snow to represent the violation of laws of the nature in
modern times. Xu also plays with elements of different cultures in
his paintings, depicting his own experiences in this modern world. A
little blonde haired boy is shown lying curled up on a red blanket
with floral embroidery and the Chinese character, xi (double
happiness) on it. The boundary between cultures becomes blurry.
Furthermore, by placing incongruous objects together in situations
that would be impossible to find in real life, Xu Yanzhou wishes to
express the idea that the impossible could one day become possible
through technology. “Winter with Summer” is an imaginative painting,
that is close to science fiction. In this mysterious environment
fish appear with man; plants and a rabbit; the world depicted is
neither that of land nor water. The colours used are unusual. The
title also suggests another paradoxical question to the viewers as
to which season it is. Xu questions the nature of reality, and the
position of nature in this technology and information flooded world.
Man will no longer be able to differentiate between a nature created
by “god” or that created by man. Xu thinks that art, as a medium
should search for forms and signs that symbolize the “truth”. He
paints to reflect what is happening in the world. When art can
affect our state of mind, influence our way of living and gain our
recognition, it fulfils its goal.
In Xu’s recent portraits, the background is even more surrealist in
nature. Seen on the surface, the background and the figure appear
totally unrelated. Nevertheless, the background hints at the state
of mind of the subject being painted. “The New Century－Da
Zhong Hua” is one of a
series of paintings of a woman in outer space. It is realistically
painted, yet surrealist in content. The woman is smiling, although
viewers do not know why, the background suggests she maybe thinking
of something magnificent and unknowable for most people.
Xu Yanzhou has created some large scale paintings on life and death
and the relationship between man and the natural environment since
he began living in North America. In “Innocence” a large tree trunk
is being felled; a little bird is resting on it and looks as if it
is dying. It shows man destroying nature for his own benefit; at the
same time destroying the habitat of other living creatures. Xu is an
artist who is touched by what he has seen and is inspired by his
surroundings wherever he goes. “The Feast” shows the body of a deer,
two lions and a vulture. The deer has clearly been attacked by the
lions. It is an ordinary scene in nature but Xu compares man to the
lions implying the role of man imposing his will on other creatures.
The lions view their prey sarcastically, the whole mood of the
painting is sordid and ponderous, which contrasts hugely from his
portrait paintings. The animals in his paintings all bear human
attributes. It is up to the viewers to decide whether animals have
human qualities or whether man is in fact no different from a wild
animal.
From the very beginning of his career as an artist, Xu Yanzhou has
always questioned
life and society seeking answers in, and expressing his views
through his paintings. Though he paints in a realistic technique, Xu
is never content to only depict or narrate what is seen by the eye.
He has explored many concepts and he is still exploring. He does not
merely adapt realist techniques but transforms them and the styles
of the masters to create his own characters to express his
conceptual and even surrealist thinking. Though realism was the
style that the academy used to fight against the “escapism” of
literati paintings, Xu Yanzhou has never forgotten the virtue of
traditional Chinese paintings, xieyi. Yi could be a mood of
work, an imagery, a meaning, an idea or a will; it comprises
multiple meanings, which is what Xu wishes to express in his
paintings. His surreal realism harmonizes the philosophies of
Chinese and Western art and reflects the spirit of our time.
Gigi Leung
Assistant Curator
University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong
11 July 2008
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Artist’s unique style modernizes
realism
Fan Di’an*
The discovery of a unique creative
language – one that an artist eloquently uses to speak emotion,
aspirations and ideas into a given subject – is one of the hallmarks
indicative of a painter’s maturity. For over a decade now, Xu
Yanzhou has been searching for just such a language.
Xu has loved paintings ever since
childhood. In 1979 he entered the Shandong Art Institute and
following graduation he remained on board where he served in the
capacity of a professor. In 1987 he was admitted to a special
training program at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing
sponsored jointly by the Ministries of Education and Culture.
Following his training, Xu took the post of assistant professor at
Shandong Art Institute in 1989.
Xu’s two-year stint at the Academy was
a prolific period in his life as a painter. While there he blended
disciplined study with frequent excursions to mountain villages,
where he created a large number of on-site paintings such as
“Mountain Village Girl”, “Grandmother and Grandson” and “Awakening,”
all of which are imbued with strong local flavor.
Emblematic of this new direction in his
works was Xu’s solo exhibition held in 1989 at the National Art
Museum of China in Beijing, entitled “An Exhibition of Realist Oil
Paintings.”
Since the 1950s, realism has been a
focal point for Chinese oil painters. For historical reasons,
however, many artists’ knowledge and understanding of realist
traditions is quite limited – especially with respect to the
literary dimensions, symbolism and metaphysics of painting.
Realism
In the early 1980s, painters sparked
off a debate on realism in order to explore its true meaning and to
enrich its subject matter. Sadly, in the wake of the burgeoning
avant-garde in modern Western art, realism became even more
misunderstood, was routinely labeled as “antiquated,” and was
consequently denied, dismissed and disregarded by many painters. It
was out of this anti-realist milieu that Xu Yanzhou emerged to
present a significant body of work that stood successfully on it own
terms.
For years Xu has immersed himself in
the countryside of Shandong Province where he has found himself
fascinated by the vitality of rural life and the local peasants that
help create it. The latter have relied on the land for generations.
Their joys and sorrows, successes and disappointments are closely
linked with the nature, and their simple lifestyles belie an
indomitable spirit which Xu feels richly reflects traditional
Chinese culture.
To complement his artistic bias, Xu
constructs detailed compositions. He studies and analyzes the
language used in Western classical and modern oils with the intent
of selecting and absorbing particular elements from masterpieces
across a range of different periods, and then distilling them into a
flavor and tone uniquely his own. In terms of broad methodology, he
combines an emphasis on dominant colors (a technique common in
classical oil painting) with the use of exterior light (a technique
common in modern oil work).
Two prominent features of Xu’s realism
are his focus on the psychology of subjects depicted in ordinary
rural scenes and an air of richness and elegance. Concerning the
former Xu has said, “The ideal world which I have illustrated is
evolved from actual experience and yet it is somehow more precise
than real life, so it enables people to perceive a new sense of
vitality in things.”
In his treatment of the personalities
and emotions of his subjects, Xu fulfils the demands of contemporary
viewers by reaffirming existing cultural values while at the same
time stimulating philosophical reflection. An illustration of this
occurs in the unadulterated and altruistic love depicted in
“Grandmother and Grandson.”
One reason for the work’s success is
its vivid depiction of details, which effectively creates a unity
between objects and human emotion, imparting profound dimensions to
seemingly simple and innocent scenes.
Depiction
In “Mountain Village Girl”, the viewer
is drawn into the mind and fate of a mountain village girl. The
effect is achieved not only through the meticulous depiction of the
girl’s facial expression, but also because of her clothing and
posture, and of the rural settings. Far from only a static record
of the figure’s identity, this painting also offers an exploration
of the village girl’s future as well as an affirmation of the value
of life.
Through tonal contrasts, perspective
and texture, Xu succeeds in presenting a rich elegance by virtue of
harmonizing art’s spiritual implications. In effect, he imbues
realism with a new sense of purpose.
“The soul of my paintings is an inner
ferment,” he says, “Look at the things of nature. When spring
comes, the land, the mountains and the trees exhibit the force of
life itself. What I emphasize is the vitality and the character
concealed below the surface of pastoral simplicity and barrenness”.
This expression of the “force of life”, Xu feels, comes from his
love of life and nature, and is best articulated in his landscape
series.
In Xu’s painting “Awakening”,
half-melted snow on a country plain suggests the vicissitudes of
time and life – an aspect of the work that is heightened by the
perspective created by the path extending into the distance. His
choice of materials allows him to create textures dense enough to
illustrate the qualities of each element, for instance, in the
fluidity of the path, the solidity of the stone wall, the roughness
of the tree, and the softness of the haystacks.
These textures and brush-strokes are
executed in varying directions to produce a rhythmical effect,
broadening the picture’s perspective from foreground to background.
Incorporating both thick and thin layers of colors and using gentle,
curving lines to create both real and illusory images, the work is
rich, joyous and benign. Its detail encourages the viewer to break
the boundaries of time and space.
Xu Yanzhou has expended great effort in
the study of techniques and the enrichment of the subject matter of
his painting. Xu’s images are simple, his language is elegant, and
his work has unique artistic appeal. Without question, his work
serves as an important contribution to the development of the
evolving traditions of Chinese oil painting.
* By Fan Di’an, The
Director of National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China. Published
at “China Daily” (English Edition), “Chinese Literature” (English
Edition) and “Chinese Literature” (French Edition), etc.
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