At 10:30am on 27 October, the “Donation Ceremony of Zhao Ruichun’s Works” was held at the CAFA Art Museum. Su Xinping, Vice President of CAFA, Zhang Zikang, Director of the CAFA Art Museum, Zhao Ruichun, a graduate from CAFA in 1959, a painter of the Guangzhou Academy of Painting, a famous printer and the donator of the works attended the ceremony, in addition, Zhao Ruichun’s wife Yuan Xiuying, and his young daughter Zhao Ming also attended the ceremony. Gao Gao, Assistant to the Director of CAFA Art Museum and Head of the Department of Curatorial Research of CAFA Art Museum, hosted the ceremony.

Born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province in 1935, Zhao Ruichun graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1959, as one of the first graduates of the Department of Printmaking, CAFA. He taught at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts from 1959 to 1971 and cultivated many outstanding printmaking talents in Guangdong. At the beginning of the reform and opening in 1980, invited by his teacher Li Hua, he was involved in the establishment of the Studio of Screen Prints at the Department of Printmaking, CAFA. Since 1984, he has been a professional painter in the 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.

In order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his alma mater, Zhao Ruichun donated his own representative works to his alma mater, including 130 important works covering prints, sketches, watercolors and comic books, which will be in the permanent collection of CAFA Art Museum. These works cover Zhao Ruichun’s creative history since the 1950s, presenting the course of growth of a student that graduated from the academy, and also reflects the historical development of the Chinese prints since the 1950s.

At the ceremony, Su Xinping thanked Zhao Ruichun for his donations on behalf of all the teachers and students from CAFA. Zhao’s works have directly influenced the printmakers who grew up in the 1980s. The teachers and students of the first session jointly participated in the construction of the Department of Printmaking, CAFA. The teaching attitude of the older generation of teachers, the feelings of the country are reflected in the works, the love of the people, and the contributions to the academy are worthy of inspection by the younger generations. These senior artists donated their works to the art museum, as well as other institutions, which deserve our admiration. Finally, Su Xinping expressed his wish that Zhao’s artistic life was eternal.

Zhao Ruichun expressed his gratitude for the school’s cultivation, he recalled the teachers of CAFA, the artistic direction of Prof. Wei Qimei and Prof. Li Hu in the study of fundamental courses, the late mentor Li Hua’s words and deeds, as well as the training with the artistic experience by Gu Yuan, Yan Han, Huang Yongyu. “It is the best destination as my alma mater collects my works of creation, and I am heavily encouraged by this, taking it as a new start to create a better work to recompense the earnest expectation of the alma mater.”

Subsequently, Su Xinping accepted Zhao Ruichun’s donations on behalf of the academy. Director Zhang Zikang awarded Zhao Ruichun a collection certificate from the art museum. This program received the Ministry of Culture’s 2017 National Art Collection Award and financial support. In conjunction with the donation project, “Vibrant Sincerity – The Exhibition of Artworks Donated by Zhao Ruichun” opened at Gallery 4F, CAFA Art Museum.

Text edited by Wu Huixia, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Photo by the CAFA Art Museum