The 18th Beijing Art Expo attracted a large turnout of aficionados from around the world, with one thing in common - the pursuit of art and the different approaches to portraying beauty. From their work can be seen a spirit of life and dreams. Meet some of them.
Integrating western techniques with Chinese traditions
"Though the painting techniques and tools of China and the west are so different, the pursuit of beauty is the same. Chinese and western painting can be integrated," said Wang Zhenmei, a poet and painter known both in China and overseas.
Wang began to paint at the age of 12 and has been active for more than 40 years. He studied celebrated traditional Chinese masters Fu Baoshi and Li Xiongcai before going to Italy for further education in fine art.
"What I am doing is to apply western painting techniques to traditional Chinese pieces. Without losing taste and style, I want those art creations to be more internationally understandable," Wang said.
Wang's painting is a perfect combination of Chinese ink-and-wash style with oil painting skills. At a distance one will view the work as a beautiful traditional creation; yet on closer inspection, one can easily find a strong sense of realism by the detailed depiction of the subject, making one think of Van Gogh's Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers.
Wang's unique style is widely recognized and his works are collected and exhibited by a number of national and private galleries in France, Germany and Italy.
"I think the key to developing Chinese contemporary fine art is to absorb western techniques and make it serve Chinese traditional creations," Wang said.
Bringing Ukrainian art to China
"Chinese collectors are very smart. They can understand our paintings without the boundary of language and cultural difference," said Mykhailo Molodozhonov, a gallery owner from Kharkov, Ukraine.
Molodozhonov, 41, started to run his own business with China 10 years ago. His brother Valerity Shmatko, 50, is an artist widely known in Ukraine, Europe and the US. Seeing the great potential of the Chinese art market, the brothers decided to work together to encourage more Chinese to know about their Ukrainian art and staged their first exhibition in Beijing in 2014.
"I like my brother's paintings most. Some of the pictures depict our city Kharkov and I like them." Molodozhonov said.
Shmatko's paintings are rich and bright in color and delicate in structure. The landscape of European countries is his favorite theme and his works reflect his deep love and passion for nature. Valerity has staged a slew of exhibitions since 1998 across Europe and America.
"Ukraine has a war and it is now in a bad situation. The economy is bad as well," Molodozhonov said, "we will have our gallery open in Beijing and have permanent exhibitions soon."
"It was like a 'rebirth'. I experienced a totally different dimension of art," Shi said. "In New York, the understanding of art is so broad that beauty is just a very small element. Their creativity is astonishing".
The cultural difference makes Shi explore further possibilities. His work is full of Chinese cultural codes and elements, yet highly creative in the form of expression and use of color. As a migrant artist, his paintings also express his deep love of his country and his feelings towards changes of life.
Shi's painting style is unique and delicate and his works are widely collected by individuals and art institutions. For example, his Infatuation of Sentiments and Indulgence of Colors series are very well-received by the public.
"Our contemporary art, especially those creative and active elements, are much influenced by the west, yet the core of truly Chinese art can only be expressed by Chinese," Shi said. "For me, painting is an inner need and I hope to make continuous progress".
French galley owner’s dream in China
"My Chinese customers like classic works better. They want something that they can compare to reality, something that brings feeling to real life," president of France Art Gallery Cyril Lanskoy said.
Lanskoy, 45, took over his parents' gallery in France 20 years ago. The gallery is a big collection of well-known artists' work from France and Russia, and Lanskoy began to build up his social network with artists from different countries when he was young. But he always had a curiosity for China, the far-away country in the east.
"China was like a mystery for us, because it is far away from Europe, far away from Russia," Lanskoy said.
As a result of China's rapid economic development, Lanskoy began to notice a growing number of Chinese collectors in France.
"A lot of Chinese customers came to my French gallery, also in Russia. Then I thought it would be nice to go directly to China, then I can see the culture and study some new things, or provide paintings directly to customers here," Lanskoy said.
Lanskoy first came to China three years ago and staged exhibitions in many cities such as Beijing Shanghai and Guangzhou.
"My dream is to make people happy. When I see our regular customers get what they want. I feel happy too."
