The Modern Art Exhibit at the Dalian South East Gallery is a refreshing change from the traditional painting and calligraphy so often seen in Chinese galleries.
About a dozen artists are represented and show in bronze, oil, watercolour, pen & ink, and oil. The two large woodcuts at the entrance are a testament to a traditional style that has been taken up a few notches. The intricate designs are precise and invite a closer look to determine the patterns. Around the corner a different artist’s woodcuts represent a simpler form that allows the viewer to step back and admire the whole scene.
In the same room two oil paintings, one of a street scene and the other of a moon bridge over a river, would be at home in any gallery in North America or Europe. They are both painted with subdued colours in broad, sweeping brush strokes. Two other landscape paintings are bright and give the sense of tranquil pasturelands. The use of pointillism is at its best in another two landscape scenes that remind one of Impressionist works.
The upstairs gallery contains some colour pen & ink works of peonies and chrysanthemums but the works are looser and more natural looking... These are exquisitely matted and framed making them very appealing. My personal favourite is a work by 徐惠泉 (Xú Huì Quán). It shows two women in a classical setting, namely at toilette. The artist’s use of minimal cubism on the women’s faces gives a hint of early Picasso. However, the resemblance ends with the juxtaposition of realistic detail for hair ornaments, foliage, and especially for the little accessories and pieces of pottery. Xú’s skilled pen strokes create a batik-like effect on the women’s gowns giving the fabric crispness expected in folds of silk.
After enquiring about the price of the work, 80,000 RMB, we felt a small 20 RMB picture book of his works was a great remembrance of a worthwhile show.
alicia
