Tradition merges with the contemporary in unique Chinese artworks currently on display in Valletta. Lorella Fava takes a look at the exhibits which focus on the connection between man and nature.

When first created approximately 3,000 years ago, Chinese fans were simply used to block out the sun and keep cool. In fact, many of us today still see them in such a way. However, over the years, these fans have evolved from practical artefacts into works of art, status symbols and props for theatre and dance.

Having said this, Chinese fan painting still observes tradition closely. This in no way means that it is not innovative, as with any other form of art, its style has changed and progressed greatly, but artists do have the tendency to combine tradition with contemporary rather than rejecting the former in favour of the latter, as is perhaps done in Western art where the aspiration to shock and to be original sometimes defeats the very concept of what the artist is attempting to do.

Wang, Yingchun, Warm, 28cm × 56cm, 2015Wang, Yingchun, Warm, 28cm × 56cm, 2015

“In the realm of Chinese art, innovation is more like an extension of pre-existing conventions with a new take, rather than a break with them,” maintains Zhang Nan, director of the Foreign Affairs office at the China National Academy of Painting.

“Chinese artists do not strive to adhere to tradition but rather aspire to perpetuate it with a modernised outlook, employing elements of conventional visual language that can be applied to convey a contemporary attitude or other elements of present day life, to give them great conceptual impact.”

Part of keeping the tradition alive entails focusing on the connection between man and nature.

Chinese culture and arts observe a philosophy upholding the coexistence of man and nature in harmony with each other and the universe. One of the main genres of Chinese fine art is, in fact, called ‘mountain and water’.

Jia, Guangjian, The Sentiment of Ming Dynasty Poets, 28cm × 61cm, 2014Jia, Guangjian, The Sentiment of Ming Dynasty Poets, 28cm × 61cm, 2014

Examples of this genre can be currently be viewed at the China Cultural Centre in Valletta, where Chinese Style – China National Academy of Painting’s Exhibition of Selected Fine Art Works is on display.

Artist Chen Peng, who chose to paint flowers, a design that appears to truly encompasses the spirit of the tradition, maintains that in Chinese painting much importance is given to China’s indigenous Taoist philosophywhich is about viewing the big by looking at the small – an ideology that regards man to be a part of and in continuum with nature.

“This implies that a person’s physical existence, inner world, cultural cultivation and state of mind are all interconnected into a single entity, and that the greatness of something is not determined by its size.”

Speaking more about his work, Peng states that the colours of the flower in the paintings are not synonymous with its colouring in the natural states, but rather a signifier that evokes a certain feeling or thought.

“A leaf in real life is definitely not black, but in the realm of this genre and the ink-wash medium, black is the purest shade of ink; the essence of spirit and thus an element of great significance which needs to be given prominence.”

In such a way, Chinese fan painters appear to play with the 1800s concept of the Romantic ideal, with its emphasis on emotion, individualism, as well as its glorification of nature.

In fact, He Jialin, another artist participating in this exhibition, insists that the line of thought is in its nature intrinsically Romantic.

“Painters of the ‘mountain and water’ genre generally have an innate talent to transpose themselves into the scenery they depict, as they conceive their artwork.”

Moreover, what Chinese fan painting presents is works of art that are there to inspire or awaken the viewer to the expansive beauty of the man-cosmos dichotomy.

• Chinese Style – China National Academy of Paintings Exhibition of Selected Fine Art Works is an international touring exhibition and extensive project. The Fan Painting component of this exhibition is open for viewing at the China Cultural Centre till August 9.

Liu, Dawei, Sentiment of a Tang Poet, 29cm × 61cm, 2014Liu, Dawei, Sentiment of a Tang Poet, 29cm × 61cm, 2014

Zhang, Jiangzhou, Wild Grass Breathes Out Pleasant Aroma, 28cm × 61cm, 2014Zhang, Jiangzhou, Wild Grass Breathes Out Pleasant Aroma, 28cm × 61cm, 2014

Long, Rui, Spring Mountain, 28cm × 61cm, 2014Long, Rui, Spring Mountain, 28cm × 61cm, 2014

Zhang, Daoxing, Portrait of Spring, 40cm × 68cm, 2016Zhang, Daoxing, Portrait of Spring, 40cm × 68cm, 2016

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.