Artist North
An exhibition "Starting from the Heart".
"Artist".This identity naturally has a certain aura: in the public perception, their ontology seems to be supposed to be in the cloud and fog, not to be looked at.
But on the other hand, it is also puzzling what the meaning of art that cannot be "eaten" is for our lives.
Today, MP would like to introduce you to a "decathlon" artist - North, who has his own say on this issue.
More than ten years ago, North graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts with a major in printmaking, but once recognized that art was a "useless" thing, and after completely putting down his creation, North gained different professional identities in many industries
From illustrators, professional instructors from universities and artists, to personal image consultants, beauticians, makeup artists, live beauty instructors, craftsmen, and even office directors, secretaries, market researchers, flyer distributors, self-employed people, and related practitioners in the medical industry...And this long resume is a mark that she really struggles for life.
However, in an unexpected situation, she regained the joy and enthusiasm of creation, and rethought the meaning of art for her. Recently, she held her first solo exhibition in her artistic career, and Morton Putt Art was also invited to attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which allowed her to witness this wonderful moment, and also to get a glimpse of a tortuous and fluent mental path from North's creation.
In the conversation with North, we were pleasantly surprised that she did not waste the emotion of time, but also had the most concrete understanding of the seemingly grand proposition of "the value of art".
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North, on behalf of Morton Putt Art, would like to congratulate you on the success of your first solo exhibition!
Appearing on Moretonput's platform for the first time, could you please introduce yourself to everyone?
North:
Hello everyone! My name is North, I graduated from the Printmaking Department of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 05, and now I am an abstract artist.
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We learned that North had accumulated a lot of work experience over the years and at the same time continued to create, so why didn't he try to become a full-time artist?
North:
I think creation comes from thinking, and art comes from life; No art can be separated from the word survival. One of the themes in my drawings is, "What is true heroism?" "In fact, it is to recognize the truth of life first, and then still love life.
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However, in the general perception, it seems that artists should be "born" and keep a certain distance from the general public, do you think there is a conflict between "joining the WTO" and artistic creation?
North:
I think that real art should resonate with life, and there are not many painters who have joined the world, but Van Gogh is (I think) one of them.
It is from the perspective of an ordinary person that I feel and understand the world, and then express my thoughts and feelings.
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How did these professional experiences inspire or inspire North's creation?
North:
I think my biggest work is my life, and art is inseparable from life. I learned about the lives of ordinary people and still love it, and I think it's not easy; At this point, I feel like I'm already remarkable.
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Have you ever had any lows in your art career that made you seriously want to give up art? How did you come out in the end?
North:
Yes I haven't done anything for about 10 years.
At that time, like most people, I believed that art was useless and worthless. I couldn't find my own uniqueness and the value of my existence. Over the years, I feel that in today's society, it is not easy to become an ordinary person, and I have finally become an ordinary person.
But after 2019, a lot of work has stopped, and we have begun to slowly feel the essence of life, and we should all enjoy life itself. So, I started to create again, and I started to create abstract paintings without the tangible expressions I had been working on for more than Xi years, and most importantly, I began to learn to enjoy the process of painting.
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Back in the beginning, what was the trigger for North to fall in love with painting, and why did he choose printmaking in college?
North:
Ever since I started talking, I like to ask the question, "What color is this?" and my mom thought, "Oh, I should be particularly interested in painting!" My uncle is a painter, so almost from the moment I knew it, I wanted to be a painter.
But when I chose a university, I didn't really want to be a beauty pageant, but because I only applied for one choice, which was Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Although there was only one volunteer, I filled in the "Obey Adjustment". My idea was that if I couldn't get into the Academy of Fine Arts, I could be directly admitted to other provinces. So, my real desire is to see other places, and I yearn for the outside world
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One of the strongest impressions of the exhibition is the diversity of styles and media, taking printmaking as an example, your works include comprehensive prints, silkscreen prints and woodblock prints. What is your understanding of the differences in each printmaking medium?
North:
Generally, woodcut prints are drafted, but when I do woodcuts, I don't start the draft, but do whatever I want, and engrave it to **count**, which makes my works have a kind of fluidity. This technique stems from my self-confidence, which in turn comes from the fact that I have not systematically studied woodblock printmaking techniques. I didn't take woodcut printmaking when I was in fine arts, but it gave me more freedomWhen creating other prints, such as silkscreen and composite prints, I am very rational and each step is the result of careful design.
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In addition to printmaking, you have been working mainly with acrylic on canvas in the last two years, but the style is very different from ten years ago, how did this change happen?
North:
I have only started working on acrylic paintings in the last two years. In the beginning, when I first started drawing, I was fascinated by tangible things. When we are students, we are trained to have a certain aesthetic, a certain technique, and a certain expression, which is often very uniformIt took me a long time to get rid of these things.
North, "The Good Years Are Wasted", 2012, acrylic on canvas, 40 50cm
North, Always Can't Wait to Go, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 40 50cm
North, Simple Friendship is the Warmest, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 40 50cm
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How did North meet the owner of this "Empty Room Living Library"?
North:
About a year ago, I met Mr. Kim, a Korean who came to China alone and landed in Nansha, Guangzhou, through a friend's introduction, and opened this space. At that time, I asked a senior to talk about my ideals here, and my dream was to hold an art exhibition. But I don't have the work, and I don't have the resources. Mr. Jin and I only had this relationship, but we have formed a valuable friendship, and this exhibition was able to be held smoothly thanks to Mr. Jin's full support.
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Are there any plans for the next exhibition? Can you share with us about the future direction of your work and the theme of the exhibition?
North:
My next exhibition will not be a retrospective exhibition, just like the theme of this exhibition, "Starting from the Heart", I will do an exhibition of abstract paintings from the "heart", which may be a direction for me in the future.
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Thank you very much North for accepting our interview today, and one last question: If you had to choose the most significant work, what would it be?
North:
I would choose this group, the "Heroism" series. This group of works uses the most classic set of colors of American (superhero theme) comics, that is, yellow, red and blue. In this series of works, from "True Heroism", to "Recognizing the Truth of Life", and finally "Still Love Life" (Note: Exemplified by the famous writer Romain Rolland, There is only one true heroism in the world, that is, after recognizing the truth of life, you still love it. represents one of my deepest perceptions of life.
From my personal point of view, "True Heroism" depicts a ** scene, which is the most common plot in superhero movies, representing disaster. And the next "Recognizing the Truth of Life", the outline is a bit like a person's brain, but also a bit like the heart, what I want to show is that the heart and brain are the two means by which we recognize and feel the truth. The last painting, "Still Love Life", has a surging feeling, the dark blue part is like an ocean, and the dark red can be lava, this contrast represents that all creation is beautiful, the world is one, and it is the source of love.
North, (from top to bottom) True Heroism, Recognizing the Truth of Life, Still Loving Life, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, 40 40cm
Epilogue
If you can't put it down, take it
From the works to the quality of the curation, "Starting from the Heart" can be called a "small but beautiful" art exhibition. The exhibition covers North's work from his student days to his recent recent: a veritable retrospective, including more figurative oil paintings from his early years, prints with strong symbolism (mixed prints, silkscreen prints, and woodblock prints), and abstract acrylic fluid paintings.
In line with the characteristics of the rectangular space, the exhibition divides North's early masterpieces and new works of the past two years into two walls, with a variety of interspersed in between, as if it were a metaphor for ten years.
This is a precious opportunity for every viewer, not only for the works on display, but also for a glimpse of such an honest art creator who is willing to reveal his experience and mental journey so bluntly.
Looking back at North's experience from a third person's perspective is really a fatalistic story, her relationship with art has had sweet passion, but also loss and disgust, and finally found each other again.
In fact, even if there are no "works", even in the ten years of "complete abandonment", judging from the maturity of North's recent works in terms of expression and stylization, we can feel that North's heart has never stopped creating, and she inadvertently reveals a sense of life and a view of herself, all of which burst out with the artist's unique sensitivity. After starting from the "heart", she is no longer confined to concrete descriptions, but is a hearty liberation, and her understanding of the composition and color of the picture is more charming, and it is more direct to the heart.
At the opening ceremony, watching North calmly talk about creation and the difficulties of these years, I understood more clearly that life is her "biggest work". In this way, we are the media, our many choices are the means, and the result can be seen as a continuous and multifaceted "self-presentation". When artistic creation is an end in itself, not a tool for proving or obtaining something; When art and her are deeply integrated. It constitutes her flesh and blood, joys and sorrows, and soul, occupying her memory, present, and future tense, so how can she "let go".
If you can't put it down, take it
Exhibition Information:
Exhibition Location: Nansha District, Guangzhou, No. 57, Guishan Street, Times Long Island.
Exhibition time: December 2, 2023 to February 25, 2024.
Opening Hours:
Every Friday and Sunday, 11:00-20:00
Holidays will be announced separately).
North, Opening Remarks of "Starting from the Heart".
I have been trying to express my unique understanding and feelings of life with my paintings. For me, art is not an isolated act, but a matter of life and for each and every one of us. The theme of my exhibition is "Starting from the Heart", and the results of a lifetime are from the heart, which also means "starting anew", so that our dreams can start from here and now, whenever we want.
Gallery of the scene
This article was compiled by the editorial department of MP based on on-site interviews; The images of the works quoted in the text and some of the on-site ** materials are provided by the artist himself. Thanks to the artist North for his great assistance and support in this collection!
North is a partner of Moreton Putt Art Space, welcome to contact us.
Art