ZHANG XIAOGANG (B. 1958) & WU SHANZHUAN (B. 1960)

In 2007, the art historian and curator Lu Peng invited a group of Chinese contemporary artists including Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhou Chunya, Ye Yongqing, Yue Minjun, Wang Guangyi, Mao Xuhui, Wu Shanzhuan, and Zhang Peili to gather at a resort of Sanya for a ‘brush event’. The artists were asked to explore traditional medium of ink and color using brush on rice paper in reinterpreting the most recognizable themes and imageries within their oeuvre.  Like the Orchid Pavilion gathering organized by Wang Xizhi in the Six Dynasties, the Sanya gathering after 1600 years brought contemporary artists together for mutual inspiration and artist creation, reviving the great literati traditional in the Chinese history.

As one of the most venerable modern artists in China, Qi Baishi is famous for his ink paintings of shrimp. The artist raised shrimp in order to study them in detail; this is apparent to his brush strokes which breathe life into the creatures he depicts on paper. Qi Baishi’s ink painting serves as a benchmark for younger generations of artist to attempt to surpass, as well as a model for them on the inherent spirit of painting. This work, Homage to Qi Baishi, painted by Zhang Xiaogang, one of China’s most established contemporary artists, and Wu Shanzhuan, a highly conceptual artist, examines this well-known subject matter in a wild way to reinterpret the legacy of traditional ink painting. It poses the question, which elements of tradition should we keep in the 21st Century and which should we abandon? Homage to Qi Baishi, on one hand, shows their respects for this old master, but on the other hand, forges onward to find a new direction for contemporary ink paintings.