On July 5, 2014, planned by art critic Wang Meng, “A New Context Derived From Shuimo” – Sishang Art Museum Experimental Plan in the Second Round was unveiled at the Sishang Art Museum. The exhibition focuses on a “cross-cultural” phenomenon of ink painting, thus it is derived from “cross media” in the formation, and creates a context in which spiritual interest has a relationship and dialogue with the spiritual core of Shuimo (ink painting). The exhibition invites 11 active or promising artists to participate including Hang Chunhui, Liu Liyun, Li Sa, Peng Wei, Qin Xiuping, Sun Bo, Sun Hao, Tian Wei, Wang Huangsheng, Yang Kai, Zhang Yanzi (in alphabetical order by last name), the artists born in the 1970s as the main body, to connect “the 1950s”, “the 1960s” and “the 1980s”. While different “intergenerational continuities” are created in the historical clue, it also invites representatives of the present active art groups of the currently booming “Shuimo”, including “Qisheyaji/ Seven Young Artists’ Gathering”, “New Gong-bi (Meticulous) Painting” and “Cold Ink”, as well as representative artistic individuals to constitute a synchronic structure.

At 4:00 pm, the opening ceremony was held at the Sishang Art Museum, and presided over by exhibition director Ms Yang Xian, guests that attended the opening ceremony included the representatives of the artists Yang Kai, Hang Chunhui, Sun Hao, Sun Bo, Zhang Yanzi, Tian Wei, Li Sa, Professor Yi Ying, Director of Yi Ying Contemporary Art Researched Central, curator Wang Meng, Ma Lijie, editor of “Enjoyart” magazine, and Liu Fengzhou, Director of Sishang Art Museum.

Yi Ying initially said, when we talked about Shuimo, it seems that we are faced with a heavy traditional pressure, which has a relationship with the realistic predicament of contemporary Chinese society, the traditional culture and the values represented by Shuimo both face the developing and survival predicament. Most of the participating artists had once studied abroad, then they came back with the experience they learnt in the West to participate in this pressure, so that they were different from the artists that studied traditional Chinese painting in China, in terms of concept and expression, which was very worthy of study, it escaped from the main body of ink painting, and entered a cultural phenomenon, and could even be used as a symbol, a specimen to discuss the survival state of Chinese contemporary culture. He thought, although the size of the exhibition was small, the related discussions were very valuable, and enlightened the art world.

Then, Director Liu Fengzhou and the curator addressed the crowd gathered at the opening. The exhibition is an implementation of Wang Meng’s plan “Extension Cord of Shuimo” in 2011, along with the current booming Shuimo, it is necessary to embed a calm “negative” thinking from the perspective of “possibility”, to clear the stagnating factors that clog the artistic creation, stopping the immersion in the pursuit of the new appearance of Shuimo and returning to the “individual liberation” under the condition of cultural consciousness.

Curator Wang Meng pointed out that, the opening was like the beginning of the action and issued two questions as follows: first of all, we talked about “Shuimo” that could be divided into at least two presentations: on the one hand, it was as the “medium itself” which absorbs the methodology of the foreign art systems, formed by a paper ink painting phenomenon based on innovation, on the other hand, it was as the “ink painting factors” in the “cultural” and “conceptual” sense, that radiates from the forms such as easel painting and installation images, and they constituted a new starting point for ink painting today; secondly, in addition to the “Shuimo” there was a symbol that appeared in the art, as if it wanted to go further, it was necessary to return to the artistic essence of which the artists were directed by the creative spirit, for example, Ni Zan and Badashanren were both “l(fā)iterati painters” but they were different, with a high individualistic dual construction of spirit and language, a large number of ancient painters had contributed their wisdom to provide their “individual contexts” to support the “l(fā)iterati painting”, or “l(fā)iterati painting” would be an empty concept. The experimental plan hoped to cut over the field of “Shuimo” today with a bidirectional concern of the “possibility” and “negativity”, together with a powerful exploration by the artists, it would make sense if it could clean up a certain of solidification, and “l(fā)iberate” the “individual consciousness” in the artistic creation.

?About the exhibition

Academic Adviser: Fan Di’an

Curator: Wang Meng

Exhibition Director: Yang Xian

Organizer: Sishang Art Museum

Academic Supporting Partner: Yi Ying Contemporary Art Researched Central

Academic Cooperation: “Enjoyart” magazine

Media Supporter: CAFA ART INFO

Duration: July 5 - September 5, 2014

Opening Time: 16:00 on July 5, 2014

Venue: Sishang Art Museum, Huosi Road East, Zhang Xizhuang Village, Gaoliying Town, Shunyi District, Beijing

Text by Zhu Li, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Photo by Quan Jing/CAFA ART INFO