On December 27, 2014, jointly organized by the Department of Sculpture, CAFA and Dayuntang Art Organization, “2014 Creative Achievement Exhibition by the Postgraduate Students of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA” officially opened at Beijing Dayuntang Art Museum, and the exhibition is the inaugural exhibition of the Dayuntang Art Museum, at the same time it launched the award ceremony for the “Dayun Sculpture Creation Award” and announced the award winners.

At the opening ceremony, Doctoral Tutor of CAFA and well-known art theorist Mr. Shao Dazhen, a researcher at the China National Academy of Arts and famous art theorist Mr. Wang Yong, Vice President of CAFA Dong Changxia, Deputy Party Secretary Mr. Wang Shaojun, Wang Xiaolin, Director of the Department of Educational Administration, Ma Lu, Dean of the School of Plastic Arts, Professor Hu Jiancheng and other honored guests were all present. Cai Wanlin, Art Director of Dayuntang Art Organization, Lv Pinchang, Director of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA, Lv Shengzhong, Dean of the School of Experimental Art, CAFA, Yin Shuangxi, Vice President of China Sculpture Society and famous art theorist, Ma Lu, Dean of the School of Plastic Arts awarded the certificates to the winners of the special prizes.

Focus on the Art of the Academy Students

It is the second session of the “Dayuntang Sculpture Creation Award”, Cai Wanlin, Art Director of Dayuntang Art Organization and Lv Pinchang, Director of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA served as the Chairmen of the judging panel, Yu Fan, Deputy Director of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA, served as the Executive Chairman and Secretary-General, Wang Shaojun, Wang Wei, Sun Wei, Zhang Wei, Chen Ke, Jiang Jie, Duan Haikang, Yin Shuangxi, Zhan Wang, Qin Pu, Sui Jianguo, Cao Hui were the judges.

Lv Pinchang said, compared to the first session, it mainly displayed the creative achievement of the postgraduate students of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA, during their academic years. For the works of this exhibition, Yu Fan said, the majority of the participating artists were in their first or second year of the graduate school, their creations could be said to be in a state of “on the road” – which was not mature, nor complete, but there were elements that could be considered shining points. “Dayuntang Sculpture Creation Award” encouraged students to freely create, which was very important for students.

Dayuntang Art Organization has been emphasizing the academic training in supporting Chinese art education, focusing on Chinese contemporary artists’ creations, aimed at promoting the development of Chinese art. Cai Wanlin, Art Director of Dayuntang Art Organization said Dayuntang was about to establish academic scholarships in each academy, hoping through this form to promote the creation of Chinese contemporary artists, to focus on the development of contemporary young artists.

Breaking Through the Traditional Category of Sculpture

The exhibition sets up five prizes, nearly thirty works are located in the exhibition hall. In addition to the common traditional sculptures, there are many works that brighten people’s eyes.

Wang Chaoyong’s woodcarving work “Sketch” wins The Best Work Prize, which is judged as “undoubtedly the most shining point of the year”. Through a Platonic system the work reflects a visual culture, the artist by creating everyday scenes by using sketches to create a special freehand method in his woodcarving work. Lv Pinchang said, “The artist perfects the creative technique of woodcarving, which is a new spatial exploration of changing the three-dimensional to two-dimensional. We encourage this research very much, namely continuously putting forward new problems and new techniques to find breakthroughs.” Wang Chaoyong is in his first year from the graduate school of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA, and when interviewed by CAFA ART INFO, he said that his work focused on discussions on the graphic and spatial relationships, while the theme was not the key. In the creative process, he didn’t have an expected outcome for the performance, but it unfolded into the form of a sketch, which was the reason why it was called the “Sketch”.

Li Yuanchen’s “Single Hanging” makes use of paper clay material, the rich and colorful shape is eye-catching in the white hall, and the whole work seems like a variety of curves circling in a random manner, loosely suspended in it. When CAFA ART INFO interviewed him and asked him why he used paper clay as the creative material, Li Yuanchen said, “It is not really my choice, but it chooses me.” He said there were countless styles of paper clay, and his understanding is that “the object occupying space is the sculpture”, sculpture often gives a person the feeling of removing the visual, but the colorful paper clay was able to offer people a different feeling, curious and interesting.

Dayuntang Art Institution and CAFA know each other better after two years of cooperation, the exhibition institutionalizes the annual selection of work, and normalizes the sponsoring of the academy, and Cai Wanlin, Art Director of Dayuntang Art Organization said in an interview that, the organization aimed to offer more opportunities to young artists. In addition to Dayuntang Art Museum and other professional platforms, it would also start the online art warehouse based on Dayuntan, to help the promotion of the young artists in the market. In addition, the Shanghai Dayuntang Art Museum will open soon, while Dayuntang Art Organization plans to establish 5 to 8 art museums across the country in 2015, to help young artists.

The exhibition continues to January 16, 2015.

Award Winners

The Best Work Prize: Wang Chaoyong “Sketch”

The Best Creative Prize: Du Yingqi “Calling a Stag a Horse”

The Best Production Prize: Yang Guang “A Sophora Japonica Linn”

The Best Material Application Prize: Li Yuanchen “Single Hanging”

The Best Technological Inheritance Prize: Huang Shan “Chen Yinke”

Shortlisted for Excellent Prizes: Xia Lijia, Zhou Hongwei, Huang Shan, Yang Jinzhang, Yu Yang, Wang Xudong, Ding Hao, Yu Hai, Huang Zhen, Chen Wen, Tao Duhan, Chi Di, Wang Jiangwei, Yang Liang, Liu Shaodong, Xu Sijin, Wang Zhanfeng, Peng Cong, Peng Xianfeng, Tan Danwu, Cao Shuhai, Yu Xin, Luan Jiaqi, Wang Zhaowei.

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