Those who take actions are more likely to achieve something; those who move forward may more often reach somewhere.

–“Spring and Autumn Annals of Yanzi”

On December 5, 2014, the opening ceremony and awarding presentation of Together on the Path: the 1st “Ovation Star” - Exhibition of Excellent Works for the Youth Support Plan was held in Building 3 at Beijing Today Art Museum. Gao Peng, Director of Today Art Museum, one of the Academic Directors of the exhibition, Academic Director Yin Dan, Han Ruigai, Chairman of ENN Charitable Foundation, Li Xiaofei, Vice President of Ovation Culture and Healthy Group, and Zhang Xinglan, originator of the project attended the ceremony and gave a speech. In addition, a good numbers of leaders of the colleges and universities of art attended, including Su Xinping, Vice President of CAFA, Professor Liu Qinghe, Daozi, the doctoral tutor of the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, and Vice President Zhang Gan, ZouHui, Party Secretary of the School of Arts, Peking University, Guo Zhenshan, Vice President of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Professors Hao Qingsong and Li Xiaoxuan, Zhang Jie and Pang Maokun, Vice Presidents of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, professor Huo Boyang from Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts.

The “Ovation Star” - Exhibition of Excellent Works for the Youth Support Plan is initiated by Beijing Ovation Art Development Co, Ltd. and funded by ENN Charitable Foundation. The program provides funding for outstanding young teachers and new graduates of key colleges and universities of art all over China. In cooperation with Today Art Museum, The first appeared “Ovation Star” - Exhibition of Excellent Works for the Youth Support Plan aims at encouraging the younger generation of the artists and designers by presenting outstanding works of these award-winning young art teachers and students to the public to help them gain attention from the communities and enlarge their repertoire for future career development.

The exhibition is themed “Together on the Path”. An ancient motto said, “Those who take actions are more likely to achieve something; those who move forward may more often reach somewhere.”“The exhibition is entitled Together on the Path’ is also intended to convey the message that young artists should always go forward and Ovation is always in their company and supporting them to achieve an ever better future.” Academic Director Yin Dan said, “I hope the young artists walk together on the path, both helping each other as well as competing. They should not only share similar aspiration in art, but also have their own individual characteristics as an artist.”

Director GaoPeng said, the exhibition truly and fully reflected the real level of the young teachers and graduates from 8 key art institutes. Speaking of the cooperation between the Today Art Museum and Ovation, Gao Peng said, there was little activity in purely supporting the young artists, while Ovation really supported the graduates and teachers of the colleges and universities of art.

Tao Zhengwei, from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute won the Gold Prize of the “Ovation Star”. When he was interviewed, Tao Zhengwei said, the exhibition helped the graduates build their self-confidence, so that they can continue and insist on working ontheir own art. And the works by young teachers and graduates were on display together which also encouraged him. With regard to the expected art market, Tao Zhengwei said that young artists shouldn’t pay attention to the market and other things, but adhere to and continue their goal, which was the most important thing.

Genealogically Divided into 6 Sections

The exhibition selects representatives of the young artists, and the works are genealogically divided into six sections: Media Language, Personal Perspectives, Reinterpreting the Traditional, References to Society, Expression across Time and Space, and Humanistic Living. The audience clearly understood the show under the guidance of Academic Directors Yin Dan and Gao Peng: “Media Language” is a section which features works by Huang Lan, Lu Jiaqing, Ran Huaming, Ren Zhenyu, Song Hengyuan, Wang Chaogang, You Huaming, Yuan Chaochao, Yuan Wei and Zhu Xiaoqing. Their works focus on presenting the exploration of media characteristics and language; “Personal Perspectives” includes works by Chen Chonghui, Ji Xin, Jin Qifeng, Jin Xiaoyao, Ma Shuang, Pang Xiaochen and Tao Zhengwei. These works feature individual and microcosmic perspectives and most of them deliver the artist’s understanding, personal sentiment or perception toward the surrounding world; in the section of “Reinterpreting the Tradition”, the artists are keen on looking for inspiration from traditional cultural resources and reinterpreting it in a modern form. Most of the artists, Dai Yuzhou, Hu Xiaotong, Lin Jingyun, Lu Yaran, Ma Zhaolin, Su Jun, Xu Jiacun, Zhan Yang, Zhang Baichuan, and Zhang Zheyu, reinterpret the traditional culture from the perspective of language and cultural spirit rather than cultural or political strategies; Hou Jingqi, Huang Kunxiong, Jiang Shanshan, Liang Xu, Liu Yue, Zhang Yang, and Zheng Li express humanistic care and social responsibility in their works through “References to Society”. Social concern has always been a basic theme in modern art, especially for Chinese artists; in the section of “Expression Across Time and Space”, Fan Handong, Gao Shihe, Wei Zihan, and Zhang An are obsessed with the expression of time and space in paintings or reinforcement of space or introduction of time in sculptures; “Humanistic Living” is a section consisting of works by Liu Xun, Wu Lijun, Wang Xiaotong, Xu Yang, Yi Maolin, Yu Yali, Zhao Yanbo, Zhang Moxi, and Zhang Zhexiong. How to embody the history of Chinese traditional humanistic care under the background of contemporary living? Designers who dare to take the responsibility always conceive the ideas and put them into practice based on what people need and how to guide people’s needs. In the living stuff of every era there runs the blood of traditional Chinese culture. In terms of how to inherit the classics and put them into the practice of contemporary expression, this section is attempting to explore and answer.

Asked why it was divided into 6 sections, Yin Dan answered that, “the division is helpful to us to grasp the main characteristic of the work in the current artistic context, which is beneficial to grasp the main clue in a multitude of contexts. The exhibition undoubtedly reveals diversified features. It covers aspects such as realistic and abstract, individual and public images, academic techniques and language experimentation, classical genres and interdisciplinary exploration. We may also see the co-existence of traditional and nouveau media in this exhibition. It demonstrates the multi-dimensional quality of art experience and the differences of spiritual pursuits. It also presents the various living states of the younger generation.”

The exhibition continues to December 16.

Excellent Graduate Prize:

Sichuan Fine Arts Institute: Gold Prize: Tao Zhengwei / Silver Prize: You Huaming / Bronze Prize: Huang Kunxiong, Liang Xu

Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts: Gold Prize: Wei Zihan / Silver Prize: Lv Jiaqing / Bronze Prize: Song Hengyuan, Yuan Chaochao

Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts: Traditional Chinese Painting: Gold Prize: Fan Handong / Silver Prize: Lu Yaran / Bronze Prize: Hu Xiaotong, Ma Shuang

Oil Painting: Gold Prize: Zhan Yang / Silver Prize: Chen Chonghui / Bronze Prize: Hou Jingqi, Zhang Yang

Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA): Gold Prize: Pang Xiaochen / Silver Prize: Dai Yuzhou, Jin Qifeng / Bronze Prize: Ji Xin, Jiang Shanshan, Lin Jingyun, Su Jun

Oil Painting: Gold Prize: Zhu Xiaoqing / Silver Prize: Huang Lan, Jin Xiaoyao / Bronze Prize: Ran Huaming, Yuan Wei, Zhang An, Zhang Baichuan

Young Teacher Prize

Sichuan Fine Arts Institute: Wang Chaogang, Zheng Li

Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts: Gao Shihe, Zhang Zheyu

Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts:

Traditional Chinese Painting: Ma Zhaolin, Xu Jiacun

Oil Painting: Liu Yue, Ren Zhenyu

Text by Lin Jiabin, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Photo by Lin Jiabin/CAFA ART INFO and Today Art Museum