After over a year of exhibitions at home and abroad, SKETCH 100 TOUR returned to Beijing in late November 2019. It was presented in the West Hall of the History Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Gao Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee at China Central Academy of Fine Arts (abbr. CAFA), Su Xinping, Deputy President of CAFA, Hu Xidan, Principal of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, responsible comrades from the relevant departments of the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, heads of relevant departments and schools of CAFA, alumni and leaders of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, together with faculty members and students attended the opening ceremony which was presided over by Diao Tingting, Secretary of the Party Branch directly under the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

In his speech, Gao Hong stated that the exhibition reviewed the developmental history of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts and the teaching achievements in sketching. He hoped that students from Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts would have great ambitions to become masters, grow up in the masterpieces of outstanding artists from ancient and modern times, and grow up in the era of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Su Xinping mentioned in his speech that the sketch was the core part of the foundation of plastic arts. It can cultivate people’s awareness and ability to grasp and organize all kinds of complex relationships, and further influence their thinking and behavior. During the development of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, a group of elite teachers have been engaged in teaching how to sketch. They have introduced the best parts of Western sketches, which do not only help students produce outstanding sketch works, but they also provide more possibilities for their later artistic creations. Liu Xiaodong, an alumnus representative of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts and an exhibiting artist, reviewed his four years of study in the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts. He believed that although the students trained in the Middle School, they now have more professional choices; the genes in the blood of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts have not changed for more than 60 years. He hoped that the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts would continue to maintain its vitality, broaden the horizons of students, focus on the promotion of teaching achievements, and cultivate more outstanding art talent for the country. Curator Tang Bin briefly introduced the tour of this exhibition in 9 cities at home and abroad, and the enthusiastic responses that it has received during the tour. He hoped that the success of the exhibition will promote the development of fundamental art education. Hu Xidan, Principal of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, stated that the exhibition brought together the high-quality sketches collected by the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts over the past sixty years, reflecting the tradition and development of sketching at the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts. The exhibition tour might further trigger explorations into the fundamental education of sketch and play an important role in art cultivation.

In October 2018, on the occasion of the Centennial Celebrations of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts carefully studied and implemented the spirit of the instructions in the important reply from General Secretary Xi Jinping to the eight senior professors of the Central Academy of Fine Arts on the development of the aesthetic education in the new era. They selected 100 works from the collection to start the tour exhibitions which had been successively held in St. Petersburg (Russia), Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Changsha, Shanghai, Jinan, Handan. During the period, experts and scholars from China Central Academy of Fine Arts were invited to conduct lectures on sketching or fundamental art education on-site, which received widespread attention and praise.

In the sixty-six years since the establishment of the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, the school has trained a large number of outstanding artists in the country. Artists who have works exhibited in the SKETCH 100 are currently active artists and art practitioners in the Chinese painting world. These works were created during their study at the Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, which carry their precious learning experiences and youthful memories. The Exhibition for Beijing Station is divided into two galleries, the West Hall of the History Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Art Museum of the Yanjiao Campus of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, each present 50 works showcasing strict adherence to rationality and standards in professional teaching, inspiration and cultivation of aesthetics and creativity, and the trajectory of spiritual temperament in works of different periods.

Text Edited by Zhang Yizhi and Translated by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Photo by Hu Sichen/CAFA ART INFO

Work Photos Courtesy of the Organizer