She has a unique style as she has chose women in the military as the subject for many of her works. Her women are sexy, but yet very powerful at the same time. She had spent time in the military during the Cultural Revolution, which would explain her preoccupation with the subject.

Artist Background

Hu Ming’s parents were doctors and served in the army. So they hope Hu Ming also can be a doctor. However Hu Ming took no interest in it, she only wanted to paint.

During the Cultural Revolution in China, Hu Ming spent her school days either drawing Chairman Mao’s portrait or memorizing his red book, nothing else was allowed and Hu Ming found it very boring, so she begged her parents to let her enter the army, she was only 15 years old. So in 1970 she became a soldier.

While Hu Ming was serving in the army hospital, she had numerous positions. Starting as the hospital broadcaster, a librarian, and a lone projectionist; travelling with a truck and moving around several different locations.

Her time as a Librarian changed her most profoundly. During the Cultural Revolution, people were only to read Chairman Mao’s red book, or his poetry, or some history that was of the “right” way while every other book were all banned during Mao’s reign in communist China.

For some reason of the three truck loads of books that arrived at the hospital, they decided not to burn the last load, and it was Ming’s task to categorize three rooms of books piled a meter high on the floors. She was not allowed to read the books of course, but when she found amongst the mounds of books, classics from Tolstoy to the story of Oliver, she read everything she could get her hands on! She also found records of classical music. The library became a wondrous place for her.

She would awaken whilst within its walls and fall asleep once she returned to the outside world of the Cultural Revolution.

However it was one day in that library that she found a book that would change her life forever. It was a life drawing book by Michelangelo, a book of human anatomy. The figures were of men, and it was the first time for the then 16-year- old to see the nude.

Michelangelo's painting

She was in a mental turmoil as she was both absolutely fascinated, yet petrified. Despite the danger, she took the book back to her room to study and copy the drawings, so that she might be able to draw the human body well.

The Cultural Revolution required men and women to be homogeneous, women were not to display their femininity or to wear face cream that contained any perfume, hence in her art she emphasised on the womanliness of the army girls in her painting.

In 1976 her commander sent her to train as a nurse for three months. After the training was completed she was sent to a “real hospital” to administer needles to the soldiers. She was placed in the male section where men lined up to receive their medication.

Ming continued this job for a year then she changed positions to work with the burn victims, which was not a popular job with the other nurses. During this time as a nurse Ming witnessed daily the dead and withered bodies of illness. She came to hate the view of an ill body and developed a passion in painting healthy voluptuous bodies.

In 1979 Ming went to University and sat for the entrance exams and passed with flying colours. Her university life was very rigorous; she would study till midnight then up at 5:30 to exercise and consequently won a scholarship and for 3 years.

In 1982 she bought her first camera. And instead of travelling home in her holidays as did the other students, she would travel alone to the mountains in the North to visit the local villages and consequently hitching around the country. During this year, her whole class was assigned to copy the famous cave paintings of the Buddhists grotto temple of 5000 years old. It took 6 months and 6 artists to copy these famous and important paintings onto rice paper, working with only a simple battery torch to see inside the caves. This time in the caves was extremely important to Ming’s training as it was the traditional line style of drawing.

At this time Ming kept 3 wishes that she wanted to materialize in her life:

1. To continue to study art.
2. To travel to different countries.
3. To be wealthy enough to start an Art university.

Till this day there are 23 of Ming’s art works in her university’s gallery.

In 1983 for her final work for graduation, she painted a 2-metre square painting entitled “Mountain Kin and River” for graduation. Then she returned to the army hospital 254 and went back to the political office, She remained in the army for another year then chose to work for the army film factory, which specialized in propaganda war films, typically about the red armies victories over the Japanese imperialists during the World War II when the Japanese invasion and occupation.

The films typically featured the killing of Japanese soldiers with bombs/ fire/ etc. She was the creative director working with props and special effects. After that, she tried her hand at writing and directing films. She worked with the army films for 5 years, and was on her way to be a director and was given the rank of Major. But her heart was not in it any longer, she took the opportunity to study English in New Zealand.  And so her life in the Chinese red army which she spent all her youth in,came to an end after 20 years. That was how her paintings’ influences came about.

While studying in New Zealand, she would draw faces at the markets in Auckland to earn a living. Then a man from Warner Bros saw her and asked if she would like to work for him, which she did for a year till an opportunity came to paint full-time in her own studio and so she started her own gallery and studio – Anzac Parade in Auckland in 1993. This was her first time to use oil’s and canvas; previously she had only used Chinese brush on rice paper and water colour. She fell in love with the oil paint immediately and has never returned to the water colour.

Later on in life, she was drawn to Australia. So in 1999 she went to Australia and found work with the Chinese post editorial board for a year, but has since met a partner who was able to give her the time to once again paint full time.

Hu Ming is a pioneer in her field being diverse in combining both modern and classical styles. There is a blend of exotic, strange, humorous and above all mysterious in her art. She merges a conscious sense of post modernism and element of sub-culturalism.

The females depicted by Hu Ming are all sturdy and beautiful Chinese women. What she wants to bring out are the new generation of Chinese women who are brave, sexy and being on par with men like Super Women.

The people in the old communist propaganda posters such as labourers carrying weapons or holding flags with happy smiles is not enough and aren’t attractive enough. Hence, Hu Ming has included some mild sexuality in her painting which are possible from western influence.

Her paintings express dearly her worship of the female form depicting both physical strength and feminine beauty. Her works are not of a planned process born of her dreams but represents an accumulation of her diverse experiences.

There is a book named Hu Ming published by University Of Hawaii Press in 2007.

This book contains 41 colour reproductions, mostly of Hu Ming’s recent work; Hu has taken the depiction of the semi-nude female body to new dimensions with work that exudes a unique sensuality and a dynamic realism.

She has held exhibitions in Japan and Singapore with her paintings being sold to buyers in the US, Canada, Asia and Europe. The New 87 Immortals was even chosen to be the background picture when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a speech on April 9, 2008.

She has held exhibitions in Japan and Singapore with her paintings being sold to buyers in the US, Canada, Asia and Europe. The New 87 Immortals was even chosen to be the background picture when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a speech on April 9, 2008.

Check out some of Hu Ming’s paintings below, and if you’d like to see more please visit her official website at http://hu-ming.com

Vocabulary

军人               jūn rén                             Military Personnel

红宝书            hóng bǎo shū                   red books (written by Mao Zedong)

宣传               xuān chuán                      Propaganda

创意总监         chuàng yì zǒng jiān          Creative director

文化大革命      wén huà dà gé mìng         Cultural revolution

人体解剖学      rén tǐ jiě pōu xué              Human anatomy

Liu Bolin, was born in Shandong in 1973, graduated from the Art Department of Shandong Arts Institute with a bachelor degree in 1995, and in the year of 2001, he graduated from the Sculpture department of Central Academy of Fine Arts with a master degree.

Liu Bolin’s main areas in sculpture, photography, painting, etc. when he is a student, he have had many Exhibitions for his own works before the idea of camouflage art.

Until in the year of 2005, Mr Liu decided to do some works to protest against the government, who shut down his art studio.

In 2008, a series works named “hiding in the city” shocked the world. Inspired by how some animals can blend into their environment, Liu Bolin uses camouflage principles to create amazing contemporary art.

This series is an exploration of human nature and animal instincts which features Chinese citizens painted to blend into their surroundings. The subjects are covered head to toe in paint, camouflaging themselves in any surroundings, no matter how difficult they might be. Liu works on a single photo for up to 10 hours at a time, to make sure he gets it just right, but he achieves the right effect.

The procedures of these photos:

1. Put on a set of training uniform of 50 yuan, bare skin covered with sticky female mask;
2. Choose a representative environment;
3. Standing at the right place motionless, so that assistants paint patterns what are matching the environment in his body;
4. Take photos.

No trick photography or Photoshop is used to create the illusion of an invisible man.

These awesome shots show him barely visible among his surroundings, including bulldozers, flags, buildings and signs. A perfectionist, Bolin often works on a single photograph for hours, shocking many passers-by when he finally moves.

Bolin said his inspiration came from feeling like a social outcast: People In the community cannot find suitable position, without social relations, and no one care for your fate, in a period of time feel like they are redundant people; they are invisible to the society. Mr Liu says his work is also a protest against the government, who shut down his art studio in 2005.

“Some people call me the invisible man, but for me it’s what is not seen in a picture which is really what tells the story,” Mr Bolin told the UK’s Telegraph. “I experienced the dark side of society, without social relations, and had a feeling that no one cared about me, I felt myself unnecessary in this world. These photographs are a kind of silent power, in the photo where he was standing, but there is a silent protest, the struggle for survival of the environment and for the fate.

Now he came to Chengdu, he said he would like to create new works, to express condolences to the earthquake victims before the ruins of the earthquake.

In fact, Liu Bolin is also a sculptor, he also have good achievement in that area.

“Red Hand”, that is a series started in July 2007 from the creation of sculpture, by the enthusiastic response to the Western market, Liu Bolin is famous. In the Works, some red or white boy with his eyes covered. Liu Bolin use Chromic and smooth material, in a positive posture.

In the photos, man become invisible, in the red hands, have become blind. Liu Bolin creates a vivid looks like an interesting world, but in fact it is not so gentle, it reflects a generation after the Cultural Revolution, he himself being one of them. Liu Bolin thinks that he is more realistic rather than an idealistic artist, able to visualize the emotional confusion.

Selected Exhibitions

2008            “Hide and Seek” (solo), Boxart Gallery, Verona, Italy

2008            “Being”Contemporary art Exhibition, Jinan, Shandong province, China

2008            Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Liverpool, Great Britain

2008            “Force-Form” International Comtemporary Art Exhibition, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China

2008            The Converted-Image Dax Art Space, Beijing, China

2008            Roma International Contemporary and Modern art Center of international Exhibition, Roma, Italy

2008            International Art Exhibition Sunshine Museum, Songzhuang Art Zone, Beijing, China

2008            Bertin–Toublanc Gallery, Paris, France (solo)

2008            798 Art Zone, Beijing, China (solo)

2008             Bridge Art Center, Beijing, China (solo)

2008             Adler Gallery, Paris, France (solo)

2008             Ifa Gallery, Shanghai, China (solo)

2008             Eli Klein Gallery, New York, USA (solo)

2007            Bertin–Toublanc Gallery, Miami, USA (solo)

2007            Sculpture Exhibition, Hotsun Art Space, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China (solo)

2007            ‘Distortion’ Exhibition, Hotsun Art Space, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China (solo)

2007            Photo Exhibition, Bertin-Toublanc Gallery Paeis, France (solo)

2007            Modern China: Lost in Transition, Eli Klein Gallery, New York, USA

2007            Computer Men Art Exhibition, Seasons Gallery, Beijing, China

2007            “Far Away From City” Photography Group Exhibition, Ifa Contemporary Art Center, Shanghai, China

2007            Song Zhuang Art Festival-2007 Chinese Visual Files, Songzhuang Art Zone, China

2007            Cooperation-Group Exhibition of Chinese and Chile Artists, No.1 Art Base Beijing, China

2007            Made in Beijing–Chinese Contemporary Art, Korea

2007            Olympic Sculptures International Exhibition, Millennium Monument, Beijing, China

2007            “Memory” Contemporary Art Exhibition, New York Art Center,798 Art Zone Beijing, China

2007            Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, New Gallery, Houston, USA

2007            ARLES International Photo Exhibition, Arles, France

2007            United Exhibition of Communities at the foot of the Great Wall, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China

2007            Made in China–Chinese Contemporary Art, Duolun Museum of Modem Art, Shanghai, China

2007            “Union” Exhibition of Chinese and Overseas Artists, No.1 Art Base, Beijing, China

2007            “Union in June” Chinese Performance Art Exhibition, Songzhuang Art Zone, Beijing, China

2007            “China Dream” Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Adler Gallery, Paris, France

2007            “Back” United Exhibition of Three Artist, Hotsun Art Space, Beijing, China

2007            “After…”Contemporary Art Exhibition, New Art Project 798 Art Zone Beijing, China

2007            China Modern Art Exhibition, Mediterranea Gallery, Palemo, Italy

2007            Resetting—Suo Jia Village Contemporary Art Exhibition, Suojia Village, Beijing, China

2007            “Review Exhibition of Chinese Performance Art Photos”, Ying Gallery, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China

2007            “Off center Generation—Post-1970s Group Exhibition” 751 Space, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China

2007             The First “Breathing” Shan Dong Contemporary Art Great Exhibition, Jinan, Shandong province, China

2006             China Contemporary Art Exhibition, Bertin-Toublanc Gallery, Paris, France

2006             The Second“impact power”Contemporary Art Exhibition, Songzhuang Art Zone, Beijing, China

2006             “Visit by yourself” Exhibition, Songzhuang Art Zone, Beijing, China

2006              Beijing View Exhibition, Ner Art Project Dashanzi Art Zone, Beijing, China

2006              Satellite Exhibition, Shanghai, China

2006              Qingzhou International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Qingzhou Museum , Shandong , China

2006              Asia Contemporary Art Exhibition, Korea

2006             “Redstar,Redstar,Redstar”Contemporary Art Exhibition, Red Star Gallery Dashanzi Art Zone Beijing, China

2006              Nan Jing “Reference inside and outside” Exhibition, Nanjing, China

2006              “Demolish－CHINA”Beijing Contemporary Art Exhibition 751 Factory, Dashanzi Art Zone, Beijing, China

2006              Sculpture Exhibition for 2008 Olympic Jintai Museum, Beijing, China

2006              Opening of Beijing Distillery Art studio, Beijing Wine Factory Art Zone, China

2006             “grey and red” Contemporary Art Exhibition, Dashanzi Art Zone, Beijing, China

2005             Contemporary Art Exhibition of Dismantle at Xiyuantianlu Business Hall, Beijing, China

2005             Beijing Calligraphy Exhibition, Must be Art Centre, Dashanzi Art Zone, Beijing, China

2005             Luxury times — Tianjin Harbour Plaza Cheung Chau Chinese Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, Tianjin, China

2005             “dismantle -dismantle–dismantle” Contemporary Art Exhibition of Beijing Suojia Village International Arts Camp – Beijing, China

2001             “Life is Beautiful” — 2001 West Lake International Sculpture Exhibition, Hangzhou Art Museum , China

2001             The Second Invited Sculpture Works Exhibition of Contemporary Young Sculptor, Hangzhou Art Museum, China

2001             The First Sculpture Competition Exhibition, Fujian, China

2001             Exhibition of Sculpture, Peking Passage, Beijing (solo)

2000             The 2nd Invited Sculpture Exhibition of Contemporary Young Sculptor, Hangzhou

2000             Works Exhibition of the First Sculpture Competition China

1999             Work “Embroidery Shoe” was registered “New Reinforcements of Art – after 70’s Born Artist” album

1999             The Second Metals Work Exhibition, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

1998             Haiyang Works Exhibition, Shandong province, China (solo)

***********************************************

Try and see if you’re able to spot the Invisible Artist, Liu Bolin in a series of pictures below.

A cheeky photo of Liu Bolin standing in front of Mao’s portrait at the Tiananmen Square.

Vocabulary

雕塑   diāo sù       Sculpture

伪装   wěi zhuāng      camouflage

当代艺术    dāng dài yī shù    contemporary art

抗议   kàng yì       protest

现实主义    xiàn shí zhǔ yì              Realistic

理想主义    lǐ xiǎng zhǔ yì           Idealistic

The People’s Republic of China was established on October 1, 1949. The then new government set about creating a new art for the new nation.

Art was only in service to nation building. From roughly the 1950’s to the1970’s, artists were told what they could and could not paint. The Chinese art on this site are divided in three sections:

• The early years (1949-1965)
• The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
• Period of modernization up to the present (1977-now)

1. The Early years (1949-1965)

Since 1949, the Communist Party is in power in China, with Mao Zedong as chairman. In the early years, the arts propaganda focuses on building the new country.

The poster below showed the parade at the Tiananmen Square. Peace in Beijing on the occasion of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Mao Zedong, 6th from the left, with members of his first government.

Many Chinese policies such as the Great Leap Forward and collectivization of agriculture in the late 1950s were presented to the public using Socialist Realism Posters. The happy, energetic, and idyllic scenes are all on the posters.  Often these posters included Communist expressions and slogans.

One of the central goals of the Great Leap Forward was to increase steel production. Thus, the other sectors would follow once this movement is successful.

In the early 1960s there is an economic liberalization to encourage production. At the same time, an extremely aggressive style of propaganda is developed for use against Western imperialism. This is especially evident in arts on the Vietnam War.

Throughout the Vietnam War, China supported the communist north. After the departure of the Americans and the unification of the North & South, the old rivalry between China & Vietnam for dominance in this region leads to strained relations and border conflicts.

From the start, The Chinese style of Socialist Realism differed slightly from the Soviet style. The colours were brighter, and paintings included water-colour like gradations in tone. The outlines of the subjects were also more clearly defined, perhaps due to the influence of woodcut art.

2.  Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)

In 1966 Mao launches the Cultural Revolution to eliminate his reformist rivals and set the country back on a rigid communist course.

During the Cultural Revolution very few subjects were considered legitimate for art. The Chinese outdid Soviet-style realism, always portraying Mao as hero, surrounded by smiling farmers and happy peasants. The personality cult of Mao Zedong was particularly emphasized during that time. On the other hand, many paintings of the military show soldiers with grim almost menacing expressions, weighted down by their heavy responsibilities.

In the early 1970s the situation loosens up slightly. Many national art exhibitions were organized by Mao’s wife Jiang Qing. The emphasis shifts to the countryside and to the glorification of life in the agricultural communes.

Paintings become more colourful again, often painted in the style that combines heavy contours with carefully shaded colours. The folk painters from Huxian are touted as true folk artists, demonstrating the innate artistic abilities of the people. Hundreds of their paintings are made into posters.

3. Modernization (1977-now)

In 1976, Mao died. After the death of Mao and the end of the Cultural Revolution, Socialist Realism Art diminished but did not die.

This art piece above may serve to mark the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution, describing the reactions of local people to news that Mao Zedong has died. Mao’s most fanatical supporters (called the Gang of Four) are arrested by Mao’s successor, Hua Guofeng. He brings about reforms that are carried further by Deng Xiaoping, who gradually gains power.

In his view, some liberalization is necessary to allow China to catch up with the world industrially and economically. For the first time, arts show traces of growing material wealth. Role models are used to teach people the desired attitude.

Political control over the visual arts is loosened. The Chinese version of Socialist Realism is no longer the only form of expression permitted, as the restriction had caused the most talented artists to turn away from creating propaganda paintings. The influence of Western advertising becomes increasingly evident.

"Father" — by Luo Zhong

The form of the painting learned the styles of Western art, themes were mostly derived from the individual’s life, but they still have a strong real-life causes and social influence.

In this day and age, the theme of Chinese art styles is variety, which greatly enriches people’s cultural life. And international exchanges and cooperation are more and more, this is undoubtedly one of the best periods of development.

“Songkran - a paean to life”

The female nudity in the painting above appeared in public at the first time, and try to use abstract, distortion, symbols, and set off a controversy that he emphasized the “artistic personality and self-expression”.

Today’s advocate is to build a harmonious culture, and to build a harmonious society shown In the fusion of Eastern & Western painting nowadays. Stay tuned for more of the many art styles and types of painting influences in China to be featured in the upcoming articles.

Vocabulary

社会主义写实画   shè huì zhǔ yì xiě shí huà   Social Realism Art

共产党    gòng chǎn dǎng    Communist party

宣传   xuān chuán    Propaganda

经济自由   jīng jì zì yóu      economic liberalization

争议zhēng  yì     controversy

抽象  chōu xiàng      abstract

The Chinese painting can be divided into two categories: the xieyi (water-ink painting) and the gongbi (coloured painting) .

Gongbi dominant before the 12th century by professional or craftsman painters, and the xieyi developed after the 12th century by literati painters.

Also known as “fine-stroke” paintings, colored paintings feature close attention to details and fine brushwork. Thanks to the mineral-made dyes, the original colors can be fully maintained and the paintings will not fade away as time goes by. Colored paintings, which manifest in themselves unparalleled sublime air, were widely welcomed among the painters serving in royal courts.

An example of a gongbi painting, emphasizing on the detailed strokes

On the contrary, water-ink paintings, also called “thick-stroke” paintings, are supposed to convey spiritual resonance with strokes as simple as possible, instead of attaching much importance to the realistic subjects. Exaggerated forms, such as generalization and hyperbole as well as rich imagination, are employed in painting to display painters’ feelings. Therefore, it is relatively difficult to make a copy of a water-ink painting.

An example of xieyi landscape painting

There is no absolute line between the two schools. No matter which school they belonged to, painters could and did compromise a little and learn from each other, giving rise to a mixed style including elements from both.

Chinese calligraphy and Chinese painting are closely related because lines are used in both. Chinese people have turned simple lines into a highly-developed form of art. Lines are used not only to draw contours but to express the artist’s concepts and feelings. For different subjects and different purposes a variety of lines are used. They may be straight or curved, hard or soft, thick or thin, pale or dark, and the ink may be dry or running. The use of lines and strokes is one of the elements that give Chinese painting its unique qualities.

To the Chinese, “painting in poetry and poetry in painting” has been one of the criteria for excellent works of art. Inscriptions and seal impressions help to explain the painter’s ideas and sentiments and also add decorative beauty to the painting. Ancient artists liked to paint pines, bamboo, and plum blossoms. For Chinese graphic art, poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal engraving are necessary parts, which supplement and enrich one another.

Since the turn of the century, China has experienced great political, economic, and cultural changes, and the art of painting is no exception. While traditional Chinese painting still occupies an important place in the life of modern Chinese, many painters now desire to express their experience of new times. By combining new modes of expression with traditional Chinese painting techniques, they are opening up a vast, new world of artistic expression.
Traditional Chinese painting has its special materials and tools, consisting of brushes, ink and pigments, xuan paper, silk and various kinds of ink slabs. Based on different classification standards, Chinese traditional painting can be divided into several groups, as follows:

The principal forms of traditional Chinese painting are the hanging scroll, album of paintings, fan surface and long horizontal scroll. Hanging scrolls are both horizontal and vertical, usually mounted and hung on the wall. In an album of paintings the artist paints on a certain size of xuan paper and then binds a number of paintings into an album, which is convenient for storage. Folding fans and round fans made of bamboo strips with painted paper or silk pasted on the frame. The long, horizontal scroll is also called a hand scroll and is usually less than 50 centimeters high but maybe up to 100 meters long.

Traditional Chinese paintings can be classified as figure paintings, landscapes and flower-and-bird paintings. Landscapes represent a major category in traditional Chinese painting, mainly depicting the natural scenery of mountains and rivers.

The range of subject matter in figure painting was extended far beyond religious themes during the Song Dynasty (960-1127). Landscape painting had already established itself as an independent form of expression by the fourth century and gradually branched out into the two separate styles: blue-and-green landscapes using bright blue, green and red pigments; and ink-and-wash landscapes relied on vivid brushwork and inks. Flower-and-bird painting deviated from decorative art to form its own independent genre around the ninth century.

Some more painting for your viewing pleasure.

Please come back and check out the Art category for more write ups about individual kinds of paintings such as Horse, Crane, Tiger, Peony, Lotus, Fish and more.

(All measurements are inclusive of the frames)

1. Chinese calligraphy art 2.26m X 1.22m

2. Chinese Painting – Horses 53.5cm x 104cm

3. Chinese Painting – Pandas 53.5cm x 102cm

4. Landscape painting 1 – 60cm X 108.5cm

5. Landscape painting 2 - 55cm X 80cm

6. Landscape painting 3 - 55cm X 73cm

7. Oil painting – 85cm X 77.5cm

Location and prices are negotiable, however buyers would have to bear the cost for shipping. Looking forward to hear from art appreciators.

Early forms of art in China were made from pottery and jade.

The Shang dynasty was most remembered for bronze and noted for it’s clarity of detail.

In early Imperial China, porcelain was introduced and refined to the point that in English, the world china has become synonymous with high quality porcelain.

During the same period of Imperial China, calligraphy & painting became highly appreciated arts. A great deal of work was first done on silk until well after the invention of paper.

Around the first century (1 AD), Buddhism arrived in China though it did not become popular until the fourth century (4 AD). At this point, Chinese Buddhism art began to flourish, a process which continue through the 20th century (20 AD)

There were lots of paintings, sculptures and many other art works that revolve with Buddhism such as portraits on Bodhisattva, Goddess of Guanyin etc.

Buddhist architecture and sculpture thrived in the Tang Dynasty as the rulers and people during that period of time were particularly open to foreign influence. Buddhist sculpture returned to a classical form, inspired by Indian art of the Gupta period. Towards the late Tang Dynasty, all foreign religion was outlawed to support Taoism.

During the Song dynasty, paintings of more subtle expression of landscapes appeared, with blurred outlines and mountain contours which conveyed distance through an impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. It was during this period that in painting, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather than emotional elements, as in the previous period.

Late imperial China was marked by two specific dynasties: Ming and Qing. Art works in the Ming Dynasty perfected color painting and color printing, with a wider color range and busier compositions than Song paintings. In the Qing dynasty, traditional Chinese art reached another climax and continued to the present in forms of the “Chinese painting” (guohua, 國畫).

Now in Chinese, new forms of Chinese art were heavily influenced by the New Culture Movement, which
adopted Western techniques and employed socialist realism. The Cultural Revolution would shape Chinese art in the 20th century like no other event in history with the Four Olds destruction campaign. Contemporary Chinese artists continue to produce a wide range of experimental works, multimedia installations which have become very popular in the international art market.

Contemporary Chinese art is currently very hot as many globally influential art magazines have rated Chinese contemporary art as one of the art markets with the most potential. Many of the artists shown at New Chinese Art are young Chinese artists, who are still relatively undiscovered.

Do come back and check out many other forms of Chinese art and the beauty behind the landscapes, the subjects and how it has morphed into with so many artistic talents in China and how Chinese artistis making a name for themselves overseas.