In order to build first-rate disciplines, leading to the development of art education in the new era, and to inspire students to create, the Central Academy of Fine Arts has established the “Fine Arts Academic Award” for undergraduates, postgraduates and doctoral students who major in fine arts at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, offering academic support to promising students who are able to independently think and explore. On the afternoon of March 26, 2018, hosted by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and sponsored by the School of Plastic Arts at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the first show of the CAFA “Fine Arts Academic Award” series of exhibitions?for students – “My Spring is Hidden in the Sleeves: Dual Solo Exhibitions of Guo Yaguan & Shi Ziyuan” successfully opened in Gallery A501, Building 5, Central Academy of Fine Arts. Prof. Wang Chunchen, Deputy Director of CAFA Art Museum served as the Academic Chair, and Hu Yiqi served as the curator. It features a series of sketches in oil paint created by the award-winner Guo Yaguan during his study in school, and also the latest sculptural installation?series?created by Shi Ziyuan.

Prof. Ma Lu, Dean of the School of Plastic Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Director of the Department of Oil Painting, Prof. Wang Yingsheng, Party Secretary & Deputy Dean of the School of Plastic Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Prof. Lyu Pinchang, Deputy Dean of the School of Plastic Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Director of the Department of Sculpture, Prof. Wang Chunchen, Deputy Director of CAFA Art Museum and the Academic Chair of the exhibition, and Prof. Wang Yuping from the Department of Oil Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts, attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

Prof. Ma Lu expressed his appreciation for the effect of the exhibition. Gallery A501, Building 5, is on the top floor of the whole building of the School of Plastic Arts, and it should also be the place where the excellent students showcase their works, and it should be a place for comfortable & free academic communication. The two students from the duo solo exhibitions stand out from the crowd of students. As?a judge following up on the whole course, Prof. Wang Yingsheng has witnessed that the two students overcame all the difficulties that they had encountered and won the prize, and he also hoped that more students could explore their learning, while the academy would also offer them more exhibition support. Prof. Lyu Pinchang said that it was worth promoting that the form of curating by the student from the academy, together with the supervision of the academic chair could both strengthen the interaction and promote the exchange between theoretical research and creative practice. As far as the displayed works are concerned, many creations undoubtedly demonstrate Guo Yaguan’s investment in oil painting during his school days; Shi Ziyuan made a breakthrough in the use of conventional materials and the exploration of materials & language in the dynamic public space, which is also a breakthrough in sculptural art. As the academic chair of the exhibition, Prof. Wang Chunchen advocated that art exchanges were always a two-way process. Theoretical learners need to walk into the artists’ studios to find outstanding artworks around them, while artists also need to learn more about the concept of art and learn how to observe things and describe the feelings of life, this interactive learning & exchange is essential.

The theme of this exhibition “My Spring is Hidden in the Sleeves” was originated from a spring song, and the curator Hu Yiqi thought that it was worthy of praise that it was an exhibition of young students opening in the spring, and it was also accompanied by the centennial celebration of CAFA. In addition, through observing all the flowers, stones and bamboo forests in the show, and the artists’ expression in the works, we discover that it is exactly like a “spring hidden in the sleeves, which has remained to be discovered by the visitors. Guo Yaguan is a student supervised by Prof. Wang Yuping from the Department of Oil Painting. It features the sketches created by Guo Yaguan during his school days, focusing on the relationship among people. The human body he describes is not gentle & delicate, but more like a withered flower. At the opening of the exhibition, he said that when he went to the Maijishan Grotto to sketch with his teacher, he saw the fallen fragments of the Buddha, and this kind of bleakness has shaped the sensitivity?of human bodies in his paintings. Shi Ziyuan comes from the Department of Sculpture. Her recent works focus on the relationship between people and things, trying to change people’s habitual perception of everyday objects, thereby breaking the limited boundaries of objects. For example, the work of the “Reverberation Room” seems to present the stones floating on the surface of the water. In fact, it is a hollow ceramic sculpture. The bamboo in the exhibition seem to move with the wind, but in fact, it is operated with mechanical devices, which have broken people’s inherent cognition and expanded people’s understanding of the world.

It is the first show of the CAFA “Fine Arts Academic Award” series of exhibitions, and it will present artistic explorations by the other winners in the form of double solo exhibitions. The Central Academy of Fine Arts hopes that this award does not only inspire all students to be more involved in their creations, but also become a brand project that embodies the academic temperament and academic character of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. It remains on view till April 4.

Text by Zhang Wenzhi, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Photo by the organizer