Ancient Heritage, New Scenery: A Contemporary Historical Path by the West Lake

The West Lake, a breathtakingly beautiful place in Hangzhou, China, nurtured a literati culture. Chinese artists and poets lingered here, representing its beauty in numerous ways. Then it becomes a symbol, an attitude, and ultimately, an integral part of Chinese cultural identity.

In the year 1928, a famous Chinese scholar Cai Yuanpei chose Hangzhou to be the site of National Art College, the first national art university in China. Now it is renamed Chinese Academy of Art. This exhibition invites artists who graduated from here, teach or have taught here, or simply love the Lake and its cultural heritage. Artists on display include Wang Guangyi, APT Global one artist Ma Han, Qiu Zhijie, APT Beijing Xie Caomin, Shang Yixin, Wang Jinsong, Zhao Yang, Yang Jianping etc.. Each artist is a unique storyteller with a free spirit. They have all been influenced by both Chinese tradition and Western culture. They believe art creation is a process of returning to the self, to the depth of tradition (both ancient classics and modern culture), but they also seek to sabotage the old grand narrative and build a new one. Their works incorporate many branches of knowledge in humanities, and reinterpret them to create new values.

Ma Han graduated from Chinese Academy of Art in 1994. His works are concerned about the life of ordinary people in a community. The people represented in his artwork do not have any independent opinion, cultural roots or political views, as if they are weightless, floating in the air.

Xie Caomin’s painting is based on traditional Mandala. The picture is still and timeless, gradually depraved of its original purpose. The process of painting is at the same time creation and destruction.