Appreciation of The Famous Artist Zhang Guangcai’s Pieces
Zhang Guangcai: he was born in 1958 at Feng County, Jiangsu Province. In 1982, he graduated from Nanjing Normal University Art Major with a bachelor’s degree. With an excellent score, he became a graduate student of Mr. Yang Jianhou, who is the pupil of Xu Beihong, and he specialized in Chinese Figure Painting. He graduated with a master’s degree in 1989. He was a visiting scholar at the Chinese National Academy of Art in 2007. He is the professor of Jiangsu Second Normal University’s Academy of Fine Arts and the former dean of the academy. He is a board member of the National Chinese Painting Institute; the vice president of Chinese Painting Institute of Jiangsu Province; a member of China Artist Association; the executive director of Jiangsu Artist Association; the president of the direct chapter of Jiangsu Artist Association; the vice president of Jiangsu Xu Beihong Research Institution; a board member of Chinese Culture Promotion Society of Jiangsu Province; the executive director of Jiangsu Modern Art Creation and Research Institute.
春風物語100×50cm
His thesis, such as Remodeling the National Art Image of Chinese Painting, Feeling Life to Inspire Creation, and The Modern Charm of Freehand Brushwork published on national core periodicals such as Art Magazine, Chinese Calligraphy, and Art Criticism. His book Zhang Guangcai Painting Collection: Modern Color Scroll was published by Tianjin People’s Art Publishing House; Jiangsu Art Publishing House published the Best Artists of 21st Century That Anointed By Jiangsu Art Magazine--Jiang Guangcai; Jiangsu Education Publishing House published the Illustration Art of Zhang Guangcai; Nanjing University Publishing House published Zhang Guangcai’s Sketching Collection. From 1994 to 2016, he had painted over a thousand paintings which were used as covers and illustrations for National Curriculum Standard Chinese for Primary School (Jiangsu Version), he contributed to basic education.
In June 2016, the National Chinese Painting Institution, Jiangsu Provincial Publicity Department, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture, Jiangsu Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles and so on held The Color of Chinese Ink and the Feeling of Poem: The Exhibition of Zhang Guangcai’s Chinese Figure Painting in Beijing at the Art Gallery of National Academy of Painting together, and the industry and society had praised this activity. In February 2019, a series of art activities were held at Times Square, New York, the headquarter of United Nations, William Paterson University, Confucius Institute at Pace University, and other places under invitation. Confucius Institute at Pace University presented the Outstanding Achievement Award of Promoting Chinese Culture to him. Many pieces of his work participated in national art exhibitions and international exhibitions in countries such as America, French, Russia, Japan, Korea, Czech, Ukraine, and won prizes. His works are collected by national and international essential academy institutions and people. His academy achievements had been reported by multiple national and international media such as Art News of China, Artdaily, Calligraphy News of China, Xinhua Daily, Yangtze Evening, the China Press, China Minutes, World Journal, Sing Tao Daily, China News, China Culture Net, Chinese Social Science Net, CCTV Net, Xinhua Net, Phoenix New Media, Sina, Sohu, Nanjing Daily Net.
觀世音菩薩138×69cm
Masters’ Reviews
Sun Ke: ( a reputed art critic and the former executive chairman and secretary-general of National Chinese Painting Institute)
Chinese painting is an ancient art, and we have many traditions in appreciating it, which needs to show feelings, be elegant, and use light colors. Chinese painting needs to be more open, to adapt to the changes of this era, which is a huge subject of Chinese art. In this respect, Zhang Guangcai took a joyful step forward.
Mr. Guangcai’s basic skills of character modeling are very solid, vivid, and open, and he also pays great attention to the aesthetic pursuit of character modeling. Although he exaggerated in modeling but did not leave his basic aesthetic, the character is elevated, elongated, but it is still excellent and elegant. He uses bold colors and painted the figures in green and red colors, but I think this is still Chinese ink, Chinese aesthetic, Chinese sense of rhythm and color. Guangcai’s brave exploration is significant.
梨園流芳之一100~68cm
Ma Hongzeng: ( a reputed art critic and the former vice director of Theoretical Committee of China Artists Association)
The color ink portrait form, which developed by Zhang Guangcai, is different from other ways of figure painting in the past. His way integrates traditional and modern elements, eastern and western elements, national and folk elements, murals and animated elements, and other elements, which creates a new form of contemporary color figure painting. The most important thing about the style of freehand brushwork, which is to express feelings, runs through the image of its figure, the amusement of its form and spirit, the calligraphy of its pen, and the expression of its color. The beauty of his passionate youthful rhythm, the combination of traditional Chinese ink freehand brushwork and the color concept of modern structural, makes people feel the charm, magnificence, and passion that are similar to the Han dynasty’s stone carvings, Dunhuang murals, and Yongle palace murals.
細語40×40cm
Shanghui: (the vice director of Theoretical Committee of China Artists Association, the chief editor of Art Magazine)
Professor Guangcai was one of the first groups of college students after the Cultural Revolution. He was a graduate student of Xu Beihong’s pupil, Mr. Yang Jianhou, and a top student who was trained under Xu Beihong’s Chinese painting system, which is improved by European realistic painting. He has a great ability to sculpt, but he wasn’t satisfied. In the process of teaching and creation, professor Guangcai never forgot academic thinking and practical care, and he tries to find a suitable path for his artistic creation in the meantime. We can see from his recent creation, such as Ethnic Custom, Modern City, Goddess of Mercy, Chinese Opera, and other series, that he has apparent breakthroughs in his ink, especially in color. He has formed his own distinct characteristics. Zhang Guangcai’s exploratory series of works let people see that traditional Chinese painting can also show the rhythm and connotation of contemporary life, and let people see the openness and pioneering nature of traditional Chinese painting when facing contemporary life. Jiangsu is a cultural holy land with a profound traditional background. It is challenging for Guangcai to have such excellent performance in this cultural environment while shouldering the critical task of art education.
在雨中40×40cm
Gao Yun: ( the vice-president of National Chinese Painting Institute and the president of National Chinese Painting of Jiangsu Province)
I applaud Mr. Guangcai! Many people have never found their formal language in their whole life. From Mr. Guangcai’s series of works, we can see that he has successfully found a unique expression language and a creating path that conforms to his nature, which is very fortunate! Our painters know that it is not easy to draw a good painting. Behind all the works are a lot of hardships. Therefore, through the arts of Guangcai, we can see a spirit, a kind of aesthetic appreciation, and a social responsibility generated by the artists out of their cultural consciousness. Mr. Guangcai has formed a unique personal art form, which is elegant, free, and vigorous. In my opinion, the most outstanding two points in Mr. Guangcai’s works are line and color. His line shows the traditional skills and national spirit; his color conveys the sense of fashion and contemporary aesthetic preference. That’s why we say that Mr. Guangcai’s works are not only traditional, with profound traditional and cultural connotations, but also fashionable and modern, with a distinct flavor of the time, which is in line with the current people’s aesthetic appeal.
敦煌神韻 139cm×69cm
Zhao Quanli: ( the associate editor of Art Observation and a researcher of the Chinese National Academy of Arts)
Mr. Guangcai’s work is unique in contemporary Chinese painting. His work is different from traditional portrait painting and the Xu and Jiang system, which is the mainstream decades after the founding of China. His work’s color is bold and blazing. Therefore, it’s reasonable that we will think about Xinjiang and Yunnan’s ethnic color, traditional Chinese folk color, western modernism’s color. In pen-using, Mr. Guangcai paints in brand new ways; his ink and color bring out the best in each other and creates a beautiful visual effect.
