On December 11th, "Broad Realism: Contemporary Oil Painting from China and Spain" opened at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. The exhibition exhibits a total of 109 oil paintings by 103 artists from China and Spain, including Zhong Han, Quan Shanshi, Jin Shangyi, Zhan Jianjun, López, Naranjo and other contemporary oil painting masters of the two countries, showing the fruitful achievements of Chinese and Western artists in realist art creation over the past half century.
In the exhibition, visitors can enjoy Zhong Han's "Traveling Boat and Abandoning the Boat II", which is a highly poetic work in Chinese oil painting landscape. Jeon Shan Shi's "Tajik Girl in Costume Ayiguli" is also on display, and the main body of the painting is a girl sitting sideways in a red suit, which is a sketch of the painter when he experienced life in the Pamirs. Jin Shangyi's classic work "Huang Binhong in His Later Years" depicts Huang Binhong wearing a robe and sitting on a rattan chair, with Huang Binhong's ink landscape works as a backdrop, conveying the artistic realm of the master's vigor and freedom in his later years.
Spain is one of the important countries in the development of oil painting, from the 17th century to the 19th century, Spanish oil painting represented by Velázquez, Ribera and Goya and other masters, using light and shadow to express real painting realistic techniques, laid the foundation for the birth and development of Western realist art. Xu Li, vice chairman of the Chinese Artists Association, said that the works of the three generations of artists from the two countries exhibited in this exhibition are very representative, condensing the attention of the artists of the two countries to real life and the expression of common human emotions. The exhibition presents a rich gift for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.
Wang Ning, director of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, said that the works on display in the exhibition reflect the thinking and exploration of Chinese and Western artists in the creation of realistic art. "The gathering of these works of art in Beijing not only builds a new bridge for exchanges and mutual learning between the people of the two countries, but also is an important testimony of the eternal friendship between the two countries. The exhibition is co-organized by the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the China Academy of Art, and will run until January 12, 2024.