Artist Statement (excerpted)

My career involves teaching students in the academy of fine arts, for which I earn a fixed salary every month; as for the drawing, it is the one thing that I can do, when I paint, I feel independent, so I am happy.

I learn to gather elements from daily life, it may be an item of color, may be a line, a relationship... I use it to create a different kind of “life”.

I try to blend my ideals with humanistic thinking into my works; I stick to: doing well what I can do, to delight myself; I refuse to do what I can’t do, I do not deceive people.

I like to calm down and study my own paintings, instead of looking at others’ creations which makes my mind peaceful. Other people's successful experiences are only suitable for them, while the only thing I fear is art rather than personal worship.

Declaring an artwork as good is according to the view of the artist, instead of seeing whether it is valuable or not.

New and Old, advanced and backward can’t declare whether it is good or not. I am afraid of being partitioned.

- Guang Jun, the essay was published in the Vol.2, 2012 of the “Contemporary Oil Painting”

About Guang Jun

Guang Jun was born in Shenyang in June 1938. He graduated from the High School Affiliated with the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1959, and graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1964. From 1978 to 1980 he organized and participated in three exhibitions of the “May Print Society”. He participated in the 6th National Print Exhibition and one woodblock was collected by the National Art Museum of China in 1982; he presented 8 works to the “Uncompleted Art Exhibition” in the National Art Museum of China, three works were collected by the National Art Museum of China in 1985. From September 1985 to August 1986, with an invitation from the French Ministry of Culture, he went to France for an exploration, giving lectures and exhibitions, and participated in the AIX Academy of Fine Arts and Marseille Art Exhibition (a group exhibition of the artists from France, China and Japan). He held a solo exhibition in the Alma Gallery of Lyon, France in May, 1986, and Lyon Library collected 9 works; designated by French Woodcarvers Association in Paris to create woodcarvings which were on display in the Georges Pompidou Centre; He showed his work in the 2nd Oil Painting Exhibition of International Art Museum in the National Art Museum of China in 1987; participated in the Oil Painting Human Body Art Exhibition in the National Art Museum of China in 1988; participated in the Group Exhibition of American Northwest Print Association and the Department of Printmaking of China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Portland, USA in 1990. He participated in the Beijing-Taipei Contemporary Print Exhibition in 1991, and Exhibition of A Thousand Printmakers from China in Taiwan, China in 1992 and the British Museum collected one work that year. Guang Jun participated in the Design and Print Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea and the Group Exhibition of the Department of Printmaking, CAFA and Taiwan Amoeba Design Association, in 1993. Guang Jun participated in the “Sino-Japanese Three Universities (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo, Japan, China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Central Academy of Arts and Crafts) Contract Exhibition in Tokyo in Japan in 1994, as well as Three Decades of Spring and Autumn exhibition of the students who were admitted to the Department of Printmaking, CAFA in 1964. Guang Jun participated in South Korea Creative Print Association Exhibition in 1996, and six works were collected by Dr. Ludwig from Germany; he participated in The Nagoya, Japan – Beijing International Print Exhibition (Tokyo and Beijing) in 1997; Invitational Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Painters in Shanghai in 1998; he went to attend the IMPACT in Bristol, UK in 1999; he went to Romania to preside over the opening of the Chinese Print Exhibition and selected Romanian artists to participate in the Art Year of China in 2000 and participated in the Works of Teachers from the Department of Printmaking, CAFA in the Beijing National Art Museum of China of the year. He participated in the Retrospective of Twenty-Years of Chinese Silkscreen Prints in the Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2005; Continuity Prints Exhibition in the Shenzhen Guanlan Art Museum in 2006; planning the Shenzhen · Guanlan International Print Biennial in 2007.

Courtesy of the artist, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO.