Yan Dongjian. "FLOWERS AND BIRDS"

On April 26, 2016 at 17.00 in the halls of the MVK PAX Art Gallery of Zurab Tsereteli (Prechistenka St., 19), the Russian Academy of Arts and the St. Petersburg Center for the Arts will present a unique exhibition of paintings and drawings by a highly qualified artist under the Ministry of Culture of China, Yan Dunjian. Its author is a member of the board of the Shenzhen Union of Artists, deputy executive director of the center for cultural interaction in the field of Chinese calligraphy and painting, deputy secretary of the special committee of calligraphy and painting at the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, head of the Beijing Academy of Calligraphy and Painting Haiyue, guest artist of the Huang Tingjiang Academy of Painting, artist recommended by "Art of China".

Yan Dongjian from childhood showed the ability to draw. At the age of ten, he began his studies with artists Xu Peichen and Cheng Dali, at the age of seventeen he took part in an art exhibition in Jiangsu. At the age of twenty, he participated in a number of art exhibitions of the Nanjing Military District; at twenty-three, he entered the Nanjing Pedagogical Institute. Yan Dunjian is an artist who honors traditional Chinese art, studying for ten years his characteristic features, follows his canons, without being afraid to experiment. For more than thirty years, the artist has been working in the “gunbi” style in the genre of “flowers and birds” and “mountains and rivers”. He gives a more modern interpretation of this traditional theme in Chinese painting. For the master, the “gunbi” style represents a special elegance, which is a hallmark of paintings of the southern school of landscape painting.

The artist, referring to the objective world, expresses his own feelings without any restrictions - this is the main difference between Chinese painting and Western. Yan Dunjian is constantly searching for the expression of the beautiful. Despite the fact that flowers and birds are natural creatures, for the master they are also an occasion for the contemplation of human life. “Flowers are eloquent”, and the ability to express feelings through objects of the world is a sign of outstanding craftsmanship. The artworks are appreciated among Chinese collectors for a combination of simple storylines and sophisticated drawing techniques.

Yan Dunjian states: “Truly art ennobles the soul, in ordinary life I can always find an object of high aspirations, everything around is harmony. Art has helped me comprehend the inner laws of nature and gain wisdom. ”

Yan Dunjian is not only an outstanding artist, but also a great poet, prose writer, and publicist. The analytical talent of the artist was especially pronounced in his thoughts on the theory of art. In the essay “Chinese ink painting - traditions and“ genetic recombination ”, Yan Dunjian explores the origins of the development of Chinese painting and its new forms of embodiment in the works of contemporary masters using the drawing technique as an example.

The artist’s biography was included in such editions of lexicographic literature as The Great Dictionary of World Calligraphy and Engraving, The Chinese Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries, The Talents of China, The Graceful Genres of Chinese Versification, The Emigrant Star, etc. The works of Yan Dunjiang are part of the collections of many art and private organizations in China and abroad. Already for a long time, art lovers have shown a strong interest in his work.

The exhibition features about 70 works by the artist.

As part of the exhibition, Yan Dunjian will conduct workshops on traditional Chinese painting.