Zhan Wang, Yu Fan, Liu Liping, Bai Xiaogang, Shi Yu, Kang Lei … these teachers from CAFA have been exploring in their own field of art for many years,have formed their own styles & languages, also coaching in CAFA for many years, affecting a large number of young artists. But recently they stayed at a classroom in CAFA, standing close to their teachers and carefully questioning, carefully experimenting the seemingly familiar but very strange art materials and techniques.

From October 26 to October 27, 2017, jointly hosted by the Department of Fundamental Education for Plastic Arts and Golden Artist Colors Inc. in the United States, the lecture & practice course of the “Propelling the popularization for the Knowledge & Charactistic of Acrylic Materials and its Application” was held in the multimedia classroom of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA. It was initiated by Cao Yi, a teacher from CAFA, and they invited Patti Brady, Director of Golden’s Artist Program to teach the teachers from CAFA the properties of the acrylic materials and the specific application practice, in addition, the activities were also supported by Beijing Markmeda. Patti Brady specializes in the development and research of acrylic material, and the “Artist Magazine” has published an article describing her profound influence in the field of acrylics, published a book entitled “Re-Understanding Acrylics: Multi-Functional Pigments in the World” in China. Patti Brady, Program Director of a high-end acrylic material company Golden Artist Colors Inc., launch courses in acrylics in the United States, Canada, South Korea, France, Japan, Australia, Spain, Mexico and so on.

This lecture program unfolded around Golden acrylic paints. Sam developed handmade oil paints in the 1930s, and developed the first acrylic paints in the 1950s. Adhering to the spirit of “Making Artifacts for Artists” for a long time, Golden Artist Colors Inc. was established, and developed the heavy body colors, the open colors, the fluid colors, the matte colors, the high flow colors and the characteristic colors such as fluorescent & iridescent colors, interference colors. These pigments do not only meet the artists’ different creative needs but also by mixing different materials they are able to facilitate the work of art restoration.

The event was held for the teachers from CAFA, and the artists were seriously involved in this. For the acrylic material, the artists have some contact with it, but it was through their own hobbies and subjective feelings that they chose what they used in the past, said by Yang Hongwei, while through lectures and practice, one can systematically and professionally understand many characteristics of acrylics and have a clear understanding of how to use and mix different materials. Golden acrylic paints once held a lecture at CAFA, but it was the first time for the artists to experience the characteristics of different acrylic colors in their creative practice. The artist Bai Xiaogang through the course and study was able to understand a variety of applications of the mica and iron oxide materials involved in the acrylics and he also changed his previous understanding of the works in acrylic. Artist Kang Lei who often uses acrylic to create, stated frankly that she had a limited choice of acrylic colors and mediums with her general knowledge in the painting material shop, rather than really playing with a variety of features of the material itself. Through this course and the teachers’ explanation of steps, she recognized the technological content of the material research and development, enriching the means of expression in the artistic creation, gaining a broader space for exploration. The course itself was clear, dedicated to explaining the different characteristics of different acrylics and blending the uses of different products, while the teachers also returned to the times of being a student, Geng Xue said that the teachers in the classroom were just like children and curious about every material, through a manual experiment and mutual assistance, they were able to find surprises in each material.

Art is a world that is constantly exploring and changing, with acrylics as an art medium, Patti Brady introduced that Golden has been in the forefront of the development of new technology, with its own laboratories and factories, constantly developing new mediums and adhesives, for example, it recently released a QOR adhesive to make colors more intense, more vivid, to bring the artists an unparalleled feeling and performance of color. As an artist and developer specializing in acrylic, Patti Brady also believes that acrylic is not only a material used in painting, but also stimulates the artists’ new expression of ideas and desires while extending the ability of artistic expression.

Text by Zhang Wenzhi, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Photo by Cao Kuo/CAFA