Exhibition View
Asia Art Center presents the exhibition entitled “Rationality of Growth: China Water-based Woodblock Youth Program – 2024 Annual Exhibition” in Beijing , with Zhang Xinying as the curator. This exhibition displays more than eighty Water-based Woodblock artworks by ten artists Chen Maoshan, He Chenhao, Huang Siyan, Lu Limei, Liu Xiaoxin, Wang Ling, Wei Quan, Wu Yi, Wang Yining, Zhu Kecheng.
Exhibition View
Why should l launch the “Chinese Water based Woodblock Youth Program”
By Chen Qi
China, as the birthplace of printmaking, boasts a vibrant history of traditional printmaking. On the world map of print art, two primary styles have emerged: the Western tradition, dominated by intaglio, lithography, and oil-based woodcuts, and the Eastern style, represented by China’s unique water-based woodblock prints. To some extent, water-based woodblock printing is not merely a technical genre but a profound expression of Chinese artistic spirit. This technique has played a pivotal role in showcasing China’s printmaking artistry internationally and in communicating Chinese cultural values. Over the years, I have been committed to promoting and disseminating water-based woodblock printing, seeing it as my most important mission beyond my work in teaching and creative practice. I recognize that this is a long and arduous journey; creating water-based woodblock art and cultivating talents in this field require considerable time, and the progress can be rather slow, which makes those quick results are difficult to achieve.
Since 2019, I have created a water-based woodblock piece titled “Welcoming the New Year with Auspicious Snow” each year, auctioning it to raise funds for exhibitions and publications under the “Chinese Water-based Woodblock Youth Program.” My hope is to encourage young artists to engage in water-based woodblock art creation and theoretical research, thereby advancing the art form in China.
In June 2021, the inaugural annual exhibition of the Chinese Water-based Woodblock Youth Program opened. Curated by Duan Shaofeng, it focused on young instructors in art academies with the theme “The Fourth Generation: Image and Media”. The exhibition introduced the concept of “The Fourth Generation of Water-based Woodblock Artists,” situating them within historical and cultural contexts. It showcased the fourth generation while tracing the development of contemporary water-based woodblock education and envisioning future possibilities in the field.
In September 2022, Feng Shi curated the second annual exhibition, introducing a new academic perspective with the theme “Diffuse Boundary” (Visual Proliferation – Bodily Experience). This exhibition placed water-based woodblock printing within the vast frameworks of contemporary history, global history, and personal history, aiming to revisit discussions on this uniquely Eastern “trace” art form in relation to “printing technology, media art, and spiritual proliferation.”
In October 2023, Wang Zhengyi, curator of the third annual exhibition, redirected the focus to the essence of water-based woodblock art itself. Under the theme “The Flowing Origin”, the exhibition explored the evolution of the art form, delving into the path from “ontological awareness” to “cultural consciousness.”
In 2024, the program’s fourth annual exhibition, curated by Zhang Xinying, adopts “Growing Rationality” as its core theme. This exhibition will engage in a scholarly discussion on the ecology and context of contemporary water-based woodblock art, addressing topics such as ecological sustainability, history, foundational theories, and criticism.
Chen Maoshan Mountain Words · Unceasing 2021 Water-Based Woodblock 90x119cm; 106x139cm
Huang Siyan Seven-ounce Crabs and Five-ounce Ropes 2023 Water-Based Woodblock 13x19cmimage 19 of 34previousnext
Wang Ling Monologue · VIII 2022 Water-Based Woodblock 57x59cm; 76.5×75.5cm
To date, forty young artists have been invited to participate in this program, exhibiting over 240 works. In May 2024, the special exhibition of the “Chinese Water-based Woodblock Youth Program” will be hosted at the Shanghai Hongqiao Museum of Contemporary Art, signifying growing recognition and support from both academia and the broader society.
Wang Yining The Song of Wood 2023 Water-Based Woodblock 38x16x1.8cm
He Chenhao Time Proverb No.1 2024 Water-Based Woodblock 90x60cm
Zhu Kecheng Passive Stillness II 2023 Water-Based Woodblock 60x40cmx4
I am deeply grateful to the artists and art institutions supporting the “Chinese Water-based Woodblock Youth Program,” as well as the generous support from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts Education Development Foundation and Asia Art Center. Let us continue working together to contribute to the flourishing of Chinese water-based woodblock art.
Preface
By Zhang Xinying
Water-based woodblock printing has long served as a vital medium for the transmission of traditional Chinese culture. Its origins trace back to Buddhist woodblock prints in the Tang and Song dynasties, flourishing with opera illustrations in the late Ming dynasty and diversifying into a multitude of painting manuals in the Ming and Qing periods, thus establishing a profound connection between woodblock printing and Eastern cultural identity. In the early 20th century, as Lu Xun introduced modern printmaking to China, he also dedicated himself to preserving traditional Chinese cultural heritage, collaborating with Zheng Zhenduo to publish The Beiping Letter Paper Collection and reprint The Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting and Calligraphy, which revitalized traditional woodblock printing techniques.Entering the 21st century, woodblock print art has embraced a contemporary context. The younger generation of printmakers regard it as an artistic medium embedded with traditional cultural elements, using it to create conceptual works that transcend tradition and diverge from other forms of modern printmaking. Woodblock printing has thus moved beyond mere functional reproduction or dependency on painting, finding its own distinct aesthetic and conceptual system within the interplay of Eastern and Western cultures.
Lu Limei e,e,e-2 2018 Water-Based Woodblock 47x130cm; 7×144.5cm
Wei Quan Return to Peace and Rest 2019 Water-Based Woodblock 90x85cm; 120x118cm
In China of 21st-century, following nearly a century of ideological influences and reflection, there is a renewed appreciation for cultural traditions, with an aspiration to rediscover the essence and core values of Chinese identity. Contemporary water-based printmaking, rooted in traditional Chinese cultural genes yet influenced by Western modern philosophy, has become a favored medium for articulating Eastern cultural perspectives in the modern era. Artists may focus on the transmissive function of traditional woodblock techniques, delve into the cultural essence of this art form, emphasize its traditional craftsmanship, or experiment with the core expressive capabilities of woodblock language, collectively showcasing a vibrant, multifaceted landscape of modern woodblock printmaking.The ten young artists featured in this exhibition each bring their unique perspectives to contemporary woodblock printmaking, reflecting the artistic pursuits and intellectual depth of today’s youth in the field. These artists also present a representative sample for studying the relationship between Eastern and Western cultures over the past century.
Liu Xiaoxin Crystal World 2023 Water-Based Woodblock 153x87cm; 175x100cm
Wu Yi Residual Heat of the Wasteland 2019 Water-Based Woodblock 90x85cm; 120x118cm
As humanity continues to progress, our worldview and theoretical perspectives evolve in tandem. Contemporary woodblock artists, with their extensive knowledge of Eastern and Western culture, and their immersion in classical and modern works, exhibit a complex and synthesized theoretical foundation. This exhibition draws on the cultural and theoretical forms of “The Ten Bamboo Studio,” “Freud,” “Guo Xi,” and “Heidegger,” encapsulating and symbolizing the multidimensional state of contemporary woodblock printmaking by young artists.
About the Exhibition
Rationality of Growth: China Water-based Woodblock Youth Program – 2024 Annual Exhibition
Artists: Chen Maoshan, He Chenhao, Huang Siyan, Lu Limei, Liu Xiaoxin, Wang Ling, Wei Quan, Wu Yi, Wang Yining, Zhu Kecheng
Curator: Zhang Xinying
Duration: Oct. 19 – Nov. 10, 2024
Venue: Asia Art Center (Beijing)
Courtesy of Asia Art Center.
