Between Beijing & Dali

Between Beijing & Dali - the subheading of Fang Lijun’s works exhibition, virtually highlights two most important stages in the life of the artist. Fang spent his university days in Beijing, yet it was right in this political and economic center that the budding dream of a cultural liberation in late 1980s was ruthlessly shattered. Later, Fang migrated to Dali, a small town under the foot of green mountains in southwest China, and also a place far from international art scene. Thanks to this migration, Fang experienced a profound change in his subject matter and artistic meaning. In his early years, he used to draw head portraits of friends and acquaintances, though which he tried to convey his understanding of the society. Now, he has developed his own norms on natural images which conform to Chinese traditional painting, i.e. colorful flowers falling down, persons emerging from cyaneous water, or huge expanses presenting a nubilous sky and rugged, snow-capped mountains.

Pro. Peter Ludwig is the first collector of Fang’s works. Since 1993, Ludwig Museum has collected Fang’s two major paintings: Series 1-No.2, 1990. The main figures, two friends, are in front of a stone bridge (a famous Chinese construction); the cutting method of “black and white” snapshot is used as the painting draft. Yet the “realism” embodied thereof is offset by that shaved and somewhat de-individualized head. With such images, Fang produces a series of basic patterns with no headings, in which Fang depicts individuals as a part of the masses.

Such nameless images of the masses, seen from social and political perspectives, are even reinforced in Fang’s Series 2-No.2, 1991/1992. Four figures, standing in a line with similar mindless facial expressions, constitute a group of duplicates; then the main figure sticks out, as if yelling, mouth wide open. You can hardly tell why he yells, or rather, you do not have the least idea whether he is calling, ordering somebody, or just exclaiming. Moreover, Fang uses a prepared “incarnadine” industrial pigment to picture the looks of these figures, which has become another feature of the painting. All in all, the painting is a desperate outcry of individuals against formulized “clone” masses, and a protest against western industrial products’ despotic killing of individualism by standardized patterns.

However, this kind of contradictive mentality incurs different standpoints, interpretations and evaluations between East and West with regard to Fang’s works, which consequently become even more special. Since Fang is granted with high-level Chinese painting skills and a good analysis and appreciation of western art history, he combines theses two aspects together and put “naturalistic” oil painting in the background of Chinese classic art history. In the meantime, he makes a breakthrough in eastern painting forms and norms by employing the skills of Chinese classic wood sculpture in huge paintings. Though Fang’s skills and images are constantly under modification and extension, he sticks to his own painting method to manifest those subtle differences between Western and Asian by his meticulous observing. In Fang’s water series paintings, the contradictive mentality mentioned above also see its presence. These paintings have never been shown in full scale before but take an important part in this exhibition. In some of these paintings, figures are swimming, floating or diving in unfathomable cyaneous or bright green water. For Fang, water is a kind of mental symbol of purification, the course of memory and oblivion, or rather, human’s blind searching. In other paintings, dramatic and cornered individuals are struggling for life when faced with the threat of drowning. In both cases, Fang’s water paintings communicate a certain frame of mind, which easily reminds us of the lost generation in the Cultural Revolution. What’s more, water has something to do with traditional art such as calligraphy and Far East wood sculptures; it is a natural and uncontrollable element that human always tries to control.

Dramatic individual fate soon becomes the masses’ experience; what emerges from water waves is a group of disappointed persons. In contrast to such negative emotions, Fang adopts a new color: the head and face is a bright orange, with a profusion of multi-colored flowers coming down from a dazzling blue sky. Usually, flowers and harmonious complementary colors is a sign of certain happiness, but when set against sackless and stiff expressions of people who are hopeless and disappointed, they simply lost all meanings. However, in Fang’s latest painting, something is obviously opposing the worldwide social reality. Fang seems to be optimistic in an unexpected and unconditioned way: he paints the birth of human, i.e. a baby in the large hands of God, just like a germ cell of happiness, pureness and humanity, standing for the zero start point of a new generation with new and permanent conception of value. Fang’s pessimistic views of a constrained society now concede to his artistic activity. His prolific creations come from natural aesthetics and symbols. Such naturalness not only fits the painter’s specific surroundings in China, but also adds forms and flavors of Buddhist and Christian myths.

Fang’s works exhibited in Museum Ludwig Köln and Aachen Ludwig Forum aroused much curiosity right from the beginning. In was 10 years ago that we made the first purchase. This exhibition covered Fang’s 50 high quality paintings ever since 1989. It’s a successful exhibition. We own our gratitude to Mr. Alexander Ochs with Prüess & Ochs Gallery, Berlin (original Asian Art Gallery). Mr. Alexander Ochs, a warm hearted and devoted planner, provided profession support for us, helped us understand Chinese art, and investigated and contacted private collectors. Without such friendly assistance from those museums and private galleries which provided us with Fang’s works, this exhibition could not have been so comprehensive. Therefore, we would like to give our acknowledgement to the following museums and private galleries, they are Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Museum Ludwig Köln, Asian Fine Arts/Prüess&Ochs Gallery of Berlin, Fred Leferink Gallery of the Netherlands, Cees Hendrikse Gallery of the Netherlands, H. Koop Gallery of the Netherlands，Wolfgang Joop Gallery of Germany, Matthias Popp Gallery of Germany, Dr. Uli Sigg Gallery of Switzerland, and a private gallery of the Netherlands.

Fang’s new paintings for this exhibition came directly from Dali. His solo painting book has just published in China, in which opinions of Li Xianting and Pi Li, two Chinese art historians and art critics, were included.

It’s the first time that Aachen held a large-scale review exhibition for a Chinese artist famed both in China and Europe. Fang’s works will be interpreted with European insights. We are also honored to have the professional advice for the directory provided by Mr. Alexander Ochs, Dr. Stephanie Tash and Dr. Tilman Sprengler.