“Although I graduated from CAFA a long time ago, the act of grace offered by the teachers is unforgettable.”
Mr. Zhao Ruichun was one of the first five-year undergraduate students of the Department of Printmaking at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and a well-known Chinese printmaker, who has made an important contribution to the development of printmaking in Guangdong. The elder Mr. Zhao Ruichun is still full of deep feelings for the Central Academy of Fine Arts, remembering the act of grace shown by the teachers. On the occasion of the celebration of the 100thanniversary of the school, Zhao Ruichun donated more than 100 representative works created during his life to the alma mater, to express his gratitude for the school’s cultivation.
Zhao Ruichun is good at the creation of various categories of prints and familiar with a wide range of techniques. During his study at CAFA in the 1950s, he learned from Wei Qimei, Li Duo, Li Hua, Gu Yuan, Yan Han, Huang Yongyu, laying a solid foundation for shaping, learning etchings, woodcut, lithography and so on. In a few decades of teaching, he has been insisting on quality, paying attention to words and deeds, focusing on the important role of the foundation of drawing in teaching. He has been involved in the establishment of the Department of Printmaking at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and taught for many years, he cultivated many outstanding printmaking talents in Guangdong with his enthusiasm. In 1980, at the beginning of the reform and opening up, he was invited by his teacher Prof. Li Hua from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, to participate in the preparation of the studio of screen printmaking and made an important contribution to the teaching, creation, and dissemination of screen printing in China.
Mr. Zhao Ruizhen is of a cheerful, determined and straightforward character, while his works are bright & elegant, simple & happy. This exhibition focuses on Mr. Zhao Ruichun’s artistic growth experience and artistic achievements. It exhibits more than 50 selected drawings, prints, watercolors and comic books, created by the artist in different periods since the 1950s, presenting the growth course of a student that graduated from the academy, and also reflects the historical development of the Chinese prints since the 1950s.
This program received the Ministry of Culture’s 2017 National Art Collection Award and financial support. It is supported by Mr. Zhao Ruichun’s family members and Guangdong Museum of Art.
About the Artist
Born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province in 1935, Zhao Ruichun graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1959 and taught at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts from 1959 to 1971. He taught at the Central Academy of Fine Arts from 1980 to 1982. Since 1984, he has been a professional painter in the Guangzhou Academy of Painting. He was a former Secretary-General of “Three Prints” seminar, and the art director of Guangzhou Academy of Painting. He is now a member of the China Artists Association, a member of the China Printmakers Association, and a national first-level painter of the Guangzhou Academy of Painting.
His works have been shown in the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Ireland, South Korea, North Korea, as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong in China. Many works were awarded at home and abroad. His monographs include “Preliminary Woodcut Techniques”, “Steps and Methods in the Basic Training of Sketching”, “Techniques of Screen Printing”, “On Drawings and Sketches”, “Primary Exploration of the Teaching Structure of Prints”, etc. The woodcut work “Return” (1962) was selected by “China Hundred Years of Prints” exhibition and “Chinese Art Collection”; the etching of “The Forever Smile” (1995) was selected by “China Hundred Years of Prints”exhibition and the large-scale album of “60 Years of Fine Arts in China”.
About the Exhibition
Title: Vibrant Sincerity – The Exhibition of Artworks Donated by?Zhao Ruichun
Host: CAFA Art Museum
Duration: September 30 – October 29, 2017
Venue: Gallery 4F, CAFA Art Museum
Academic Chair: Wang Chunchen
Exhibition Planning: Li Yaochen
Exhibition Implementation: Jing Peng
The documents and data collated by Gao Ning, Zhang Hanyu
Visual Design: Xue Tianchong
Collection Managements: Xu Yan, Jiang Nan, Wang Chunling, Dou Tianwei, Hua Tianzi
Image Management: Ding Yi, Li Biao
Administrative Executions: Jiang Siyu, Sun Wei, Zhu Yongkang, Yang Liu
Media Publicity: He Yisha, Wu Jing
Public Education: Ren Rui, Yao Yiqun
Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO
