"The Art of Sunlight" by Zhang Liping

The Russian Academy of Arts presents an exhibition of paintings by the rector of the Art Institute of Xiamen University, Zhang Liping, “The Art of Sunlight.” The project is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, and is also part of the official program within the framework of the Years of Culture of Russia and China, announced by the President of the Russian Federation. The curator of the exhibition was Guo Xiaobin, an honorary foreign member of the Russian Academy of Arts.

The history of dialogue between the art of China and Russia is as long as the Volga and Yangtze rivers. Russian painting, from classics to modern times, is filled with rich ideological content and has its own unique language. Much loved by the Chinese people, she has had a significant influence and inspiration for many Chinese artists. Professor Zhang Liping is a modern Chinese master who studies the Russian art of oil painting. Emphasizing the general principles of composition and strict artistic form, he seamlessly combines these principles with the language of traditional Chinese "idea painting" - "se-yi", otherwise called the free-hand style. He is distinguished by spontaneity and a certain understatement, the use of broad, sweeping strokes, as well as the desire to convey only an image of reality, and not to make a reliable copy. The synthesis of Russian and Chinese painting techniques allowed Zhang Liping to form his own author’s style. The canvases of this sensitive artist are distinguished by amazing spontaneity and immersion. Perceiving the world openly and “intuitively,” he penetrates into the very essence of things, discarding everything superficial and superfluous and turning to their natural state. His works are a dynamic and rhythmic symphony of color, in which expressiveness and visual tension are achieved through paints mixed simultaneously with a palette knife and brush on canvas.

China and Russia are united by the richness of nature and a special love for it as the home of the human spirit, and therefore landscape painting evokes a response among the people of both countries. For many years, Professor Zhang Liping traveled through the cities, villages, mountainous and coastal regions of China, being in continuous internal dialogue with nature, inspired by its views. He created a number of outstanding landscapes, earning him recognition and respect in the Chinese artistic community. His works open up a vast world to the viewer; the space of his canvases is multi-layered and filled with unique vibrant colors. For Chinese traditional culture, an important idea is the “unity of Heaven and man,” and this ideal is clearly manifested in the work of Zhang Liping.

Based on the text of the Chairman of the Union of Artists of the People’s Republic of China Fan Dian. Information Department (press service) of the Russian Academy of Arts