Peking University, Oct. 28, 2016: Chanting along Homecoming Road in Life----a personal painting exhibition of Professor Wang Qijun, famous Canadian-Chinese painter and visiting scholar in PKU, was held successfully in PKU Hall from October 23 to October 27. This exhibition was sponsored by Office of International Relations and undertaken by School of Arts of PKU.
On the opening ceremony, PKU Executive Vice President Wu Zhipan said that Professor Wang Qijun's painting conveyed cultural accumulation of our nation and intensive sense of nostalgia. These works corresponded to PKU International Culture Festival's aim of promoting excellent Chinese culture worldwide. Professor Wang Qijun concluded briefly his creative experience, expressed his love to Chinese traditional arts, and shared his future working and researching plan.
Speech given by Wu Zhipan
As an important activity of "2016 PKU International Culture Festival" and a commemorative activity of 20th anniversary of School of Arts of PKU, this exhibition consisted of two parts----one was "Roaming the South of Yangtze River”, the other was "Exploring Peking Opera". It provided students and teachers with a meaningful journey to seek the roots of culture.
Speech given by Wang Qijun
The first part of the exhibition, "Roaming the South of Yangtze River", mainly exhibited a group of oil paintings about the south of Yangtze River, painted by Professor Wang Qijun recently. These oil paintings of ingenuity conveyed painter's recollections towards the faraway watery place. Shadows of trees, sparkling ripples, delicate and special dwellings with brick walls and grey tiles evoked perpetual nostalgia lingering in everyone's mind.
The paintings of the second part, "Exploring Peking Opera", used Peking Opera as an important element to depict various opera divas. This part showed the lasting charm of Peking Opera.
Wang Qijun explaining the painting towards visitors
“The painting style of Professor Wang Qijun is refined, lively, and full of the rhythm of life. He used skills of architectural structure and realistic painting to combine the real dwellings with the poetic life in the south of Yangtze River. Such a combination between real imagination and imaginative reality creates an aesthetic image and a unique atmosphere covering the region in the south of Yangtze River.” said Prof. Xiang Yong from School of Arts.
PKU International Culture Festival 2016 is the 13th one sinceits establishment. This year's theme, "Vision: Voice and Action", echoes with the exhibition of Wang Qijun.
Wang Qijun presenting the painting "CaiYuanpei" to Lin Jianhua in the opening ceremony
In addition, PKU President Lin Jianhua represented PKU to receive the painting "CaiYuanpei", given by Wang Qijun as a gift. Wu Zhipan expressed his sincere thanks on the opening ceremony.
Photo of distinguished guests who attended the opening ceremony
Background Information:
Wang Qijun is Professor of Central Academy of Fine Arts. As one of the 60 most renowned painters after the establishment of People's Republic of China, he went to University of Toronto in Canada and The Academy of Fine Arts of Glasgow in Britain for communicating and teaching.
He introduced culture of Chinese traditional dwellings to the world through exhibitions and lectures. He was invited frequently to Beijing Foreign Studies University and the Chinese culture center to share his opinions about the sense of Chinese arts in Chinese traditional dwellings with international friends.
From mainland China to Taiwan, from West to East, from the art of painting to the art of architecture and handwriting, Wang Qijun shifts freely among different areas of art and roams according to his own will. Due to deep investigation of theory of art and rich life experience, he never follows others' opinions blindly and sticks to relying on inner peace to create works full of aesthetic interest. Constant enrichment of his life experience makes his works full of meaningful aftertaste.
Written by: Hu Rong
Edited by: Xiao Yunyun
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
