Ink art life of Lyu Qiqiong
2023-11-29
The studio is small, with painting tools, piles of rice paper, a large painting table, a bookshelf full of various picture books, a tool cart full of brushes, paints, ink and a writing-brush washer, and a wall with an unfinished work in progress and sketches.
In the studio, Lyu Qiqiong was quietly drawing a large figure painting. These seemingly complicated processes of mixing color, dipping ink, rendering and applying color were quite easy to him.
Lyu Qiqiong is skilled in many artistic fields, and his works are full of thought and artistry. In his more than 30 years of artistic exploration and practice, with the narrative mode of modern ink painting with strong personal feelings, he uses the abstract or realistic expression techniques to depict the vicissitudes, psychological processes, joys and sorrows of the subject, and create unique personal character and humanistic connotation, so that his works have their own unique expression language, artistic styles and modern aesthetic characteristics, reflecting the high spirit of the times.
An ink painting, with dark ink and unique form, is very eye-catching. The picture is mainly inky, dotted with some red colors. In this picture, a young woman holds a violin, with several butterflies flying around her, and several listeners in the lower right corner of the painting, thoughtful, sad, or happy. This painting called “Butterfly Lovers” is meticulously created by Lyu Qiqiong, and is also one of his most representative modern ink works.
“This is the spiritual resonance that modern ink works bring to people. It is not confined to the realistic appearance, but focuses on images and self-feelings. It will take you to examine your inner world.” As a painter, especially the practitioner of modern ink paintings, Lyu Qiqiong has his own unique cognition of its art forms.
A painting titled “Impression of Xiangxi” shows an old man holding an old trombone and passers-by watching a play, presenting the local customs of Xiangxi.
According to Lyu Qiqiong, after he met a Miao person in Xiangxi’s mountainous area in a village fair, he drew this painting to express his unique understanding of mysterious Xiangxi. “If you look at the facial expressions of the Miao mountain people, there is a self-evident mystery that shocks the heart and makes people feel unusual.”
Lyu Qiqiong believes that the difference between modern ink paintings and traditional ink paintings is that the former abstracts the painting image and has no rules, and the painter renders the overall atmosphere of the painting with thick ink, and brings people intuitive feeling and resonance.
In recent years, he has been exploring between modern ink paintings and traditional ink paintings to find ways to carry forward the spirit of this era, and enable the modern ink painting representing China to shine in the art world.
As the chairman of Changsha Municipal Artists Association, Lyu Qiqiong also strives to serve the majority of artists and better spread the beauty of culture and art. In 2004, he began to plan and organize the drawing activity of Zhangjiajie in ink paintings, which was supported and affirmed by the China Artists Association and Hunan Artists Association. In 2008, the paintings were finally successfully exhibited in a military museum. “I was thinking about nothing but how to make the event more professional.”
In 2018, he donated a 50-meter long scroll of ink painting of Zhangjiajie to Zhangjiajie Museum which he spent nearly a year to create as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up and the 30th anniversary of the founding of the city.
“As an organizer of the association, I have the responsibility to dedicate artworks that truly meet the spirit and aesthetic needs of the times to the society and the public.”
Lyu Qiqiong often examines his own works, and he believes that a good work should strike a chord with people. “Artists should learn about diversified culture and have rich knowledge. His paintings often reflect his spiritual world and character.”
“At present, we are actively promoting the establishment of ‘Zhangjiajie Painting School’ to better show the beauty of Zhangjiajie’s landscapes to the world in the form of arts.”
In Lyu Qiqiong’s view, “Zhangjiajie Painting School” should not only be composed of local artists. With the ethnic customs, natural scenery and landforms of Zhangjiajie as the theme, it can break the regional restrictions and include excellent painters from all over the country, so that more good works can be created to tell the story of Zhangjiajie well and contribute artistic strength to the construction of Zhangjiajie as a world-class tourist destination.
