By Wang Su
The artworks that an artist creates are a statement of their ego. These paintings which project a loud statement of the artist’s ego are the darlings of today’s art market in China and their auction prices have reached record highs in recent years.
One of a small number of realists in China, gongbi master Zhao Xiuhuan has painted floral landscapes for decades and her passion for nature never fades. She sees the beauty of nature in flowers and sings her ode to their delicate lives with her brush.
Flowers have been the primary focus of Zhao’s works. Lotus, magnolia, fragrant plantaimlily, calla lily, iris, hollyhock, morning glory and many nameless flowerets have all, at one time, acted as her Muse. Yet the most eye-catching elements in Zhao’s paintings are usually found in the tiniest of creatures, whether they are a school of fish, a bird, or a bug hidden in the background. They are not just subjects, but the very sources of liveliness and balance in each work. It is this communalism of flowers and animals found in her paintings that clearly communicate Zhao’s life philosophy — all lives are equal and deserve respect.
Zhao Xiuhuan loves to stay in touch with nature. Over the years, she has done hundreds of sketches, which provide an important foundation for her future art creations. It is her careful observation and extensive practice which provide her with the delicate touch to make flowers come to life on paper.
Zhao Xiuhuan finds beauty sacred and is always respectful of it, pouring her heart out whenever she paints.
The composition of Zhao’s paintings may appear to be random but in actuality are always meticulously planned. Her rigorous contemplation and superb visual memory enable her to maneuver ten-foot hand scrolls the way she arranges paintings of much smaller sizes. Zhao’s sketches are a true testament to her extraordinary skills of composition. The complexity of lines and the subtlety of strokes are great challenges that demonstrate her excellent command of perception and craftsmanship. One need only notice the wrinkles at the corner of Zhao’s eyes to appreciate the great efforts she has made to create these amazing pieces.
A subtle but harmonious hue is the signature of Zhao Xihuan’s paintings. Zhao, who has never received any systematic training on chromatology, created her own style of tone with her instinctive aesthetic sensitivity. Traditional Chinese paintings are visually flat, but Zhao’s talent of using broken color, a cornerstone of the techniques used by the Impressionists, gives her goingbi artworks a perspective normally seen only in western arts. This innovation also brings new zing to the gongbi style, one of the schools of Chinese fine art with the longest history. Zhao’s gift for color is best demonstrated in her paintings of lotuses. A mix of blue, grey, purple and brown with green covers lotus leaves, the pound and floating grass with a shadowy and mysterious veil. Shades of peach, bright pink, pale pink and white vividly depicts the lotuses of different varieties and in different seasons. In some of Zhao’s artworks, repetitive tints and washes make the color of lotus as light as haze, or even transparent.
Underlying Zhao Xiuhun’s dreamy brushworks are her rich emotions, which have mellowed throughout the years. Zhao’s artworks act as a form of record for different stages of her life, from her perseverance in pursuing the study of art in the early days to the loneliness and bitterness of her new life in the United States in the 1980s. No matter how life treats her, Zhao has never stopped chasing her artistic dreams. In the U.S., Zhao could have lived a comfortable life catering to the demands of art collectors. However, she managed to support herself by teaching Chinese style painting so that she never needed to give up on her own style.
