TextbyZiRan
CoincidingwiththelaunchofCompleteWorksofZhuXinjian,anexhibitiontitled“MyLeftHand”openedinGauguinArtGalleryinBeijingonMarch16,2016.ZhuXinjianwasarenownedpainterandarepresentativefigureofChinese“newliterarypainting.”A2007strokeleftZhuunabletodrawwithhisrighthand,buthecontinuedworkinganywayuntilhepassedawayonFebruary10,2014.
Usinghislefthand,Zhucreatedsimpleandnaturalworksthatcontrastedhispreviouspieceswithpowerandlackofrestraint.Ondisplayarehisfinalpiecesdrawnwithhisleftland.
“Hisworksaresimpleandpristine,pureyetpoetic,reachingfordreamsofapainter,butunabletomakethemhappen,”remarksLangShaojun,researcherattheChineseNationalAcademyofArts.“HisworkssharesimilaritieswithcontemporaryChinesemasterQiBaishiandFrenchmasterHenriRousseau.Mostuniquely,heleftmodernpassionandideologywithtraditionalwaterandink.”
“Theytaste‘spicy,’agiftofhisera,”commentsChenDanqing,adistinguishedChinesepainter.
“HisuniqueschematizationputhiminanunshakablepositioninmodernChineseartcircles,”assertsLiXiaoshan,aChineseartcritic.
“ThroughoutthehistoryofChinesepainting,nobodyhasevereclipsedhimintermsofartisticoriginality,”declaredJiaFangzhou,amodernChineseartcritic,intheprefaceforCompleteWorksofZhuXinjian.“Hissincerity,franknessandeffortlessmasterymadehisstylesingularandenduring.”
TheexhibitionclosesApril15,2016.