With
such a long, unbroken history and culture, China has made one of the greatest artistic
contributions to mankind. Sadly, much of China's an- cient art treasures have been
destroyed in times of civil war or dispersed by invasion or natural calamity. Many of China's
remaining great paint- ings, ceramics, jade and other works of art were rescued by exile
beyond the mainland - in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and elsewhere.
The West
has also been guilty of ransacking China's heritage, making off with religious art and
scriptures from such grottoes as Dunhuang. Fortunately since the early 1970s a great deal
of work has been done to restore what was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.
China today has a flourishing contemporary art scene, with private galleries
competing with government-run museums and exhibition halls. Chinese artists are
increasingly catching the attention of the international art world and joint exhibitions
with European or American artists are now common. The Beijing Biennale, held in the autumn
of 2003, was the first international exhibit of its kind to showcase artworks from over 40
countries and serve as a representative platform for some of China's top artists.
Visual Arts
CALLIGRAPHY
Calligraphy
has been traditionally regarded in China as the highest form of artistic expression. The
basic tools, commonly referred to as 'the four treasures of the scholar's study', are
paper, ink, ink-stone (on which the ink is mixed) and brush. These materials, which are
shared by Chinese painters, reflect the close relationship between Chinese
painting and calligraphy.
Calligraphy
is still an extremely popular pastime in China and a major area of study. It can be seen
all over China - on documents, artworks, in temples, adorning the walls of caves, and on
the sides of mountains and monuments. There is an annual calligraphy festival held every
year outside Shaoxing in Zhejiang province.
PAINTING
Chinese
painting is the art of brush and ink applied onto xuan (paper), or silk. The basic tools
are those of calligraphy, which has influenced painting in both its style and theory. The
brush line, which varies in thickness and tone, is the important feature or a Chinese
painting, along with calligraphy itself, which is usually incorporated in the form of an
inscription or poem along with the artist's seal. Shading and colour play only a minor
symbolic and decorative role.
From the
Han dynasty until the end of the Tang dynasty, the human figure occupied the dominant
position in Chinese painting. The practice of seeking places of natural beauty and
communing with nature first be- came popular among Taoist poets and painters, and
landscape painting for its own sake started in the 4th and 5th centuries.
From the
11th century onwards, landscape was to dominate Chinese painting. Towards the end of the
Ming dynasty, a group of painters known as the Individualists diverged from traditional
techniques with unusual compositions and brushwork; however it was not until the 20th
century that there was any real departure from native traditions.
Since the
late 1970s, the Chinese art scene has gradually recovered. The work of traditionally
influenced painters can be seen for sale in shops and galleries all over China, while in
the major cities a flourishing avant-garde scene has emerged. The work of Chinese painters
has been arguably more innovative and dissident than that of writers, possibly because the
political implications are harder to interpret by the authori- ties. For those interested
in purchasing art, it's a good idea to head to the smaller independent galleries and
inquire there.
TOP CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERIES
These
galleries are the most well known in China and show work by some of China's top inter-
nationally recognised artists.
The
Courtyard, Beijing
Red Gate
Gallery, Beijing
China Academy of Art, Hangzhou
Plum Blossoms, Hong Kong
Para/Site
Art Space, Hong Kong
Shanghai
Gallery of Art, Shanghai
ShanghArt, Shanghai
Art Scene, Shanghai
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