Where tradition meets poetic vision

“An Appealing Fall Scene”

“Wintersweet at the Corner of my Home”

“Self-portrait”

“Peonies and Peacocks”

“Laozi Goes to the Frontier”

“Transport Links Deep in the Mountains”

“Chilly Winter on the Plateau”

Li Shengyi

Local artist Wang Yuanchang recently held a solo painting exhibition at Luyanshao Art Gallery. About 100 works were on display and most were created after he retired. They featured wonderful landscapes, elegant characters and vivid flowers and animals. All his paintings, sketches and hand scrolls reflect his deep love and understanding of Chinese culture. Those who take a closer look at his works will find the painter’s special techniques in traditional Chinese painting. Here are some of Wang’s paintings.

Wang Yuanchang and I were classmates. We also lived on the same street in Jiading Anting Town.

He was born poor but he liked painting from a young age. He became keen on Chinese painting after he met Song Wenzhi, his teacher.

I left the city for further education while he stayed in our hometown, but we still remained contact. We would see each other when I returned for holidays.

After I retired, I returned to Anting Town and we spend time with each other fairly regularly.

Wang’s landscape paintings are simple and elegant with various artistic conceptions, which is pretty attractive. He often travels around the country. He is always amazed by the magnificent scenes of mountains and rivers, and has created a lot of sketch works.

In his paintings there are steep peaks, running streams, bubbling springs, flying waterfalls and ancient towns, which originated from real life and are based on Chinese tradition.

Wang also excels at painting flowers, animals, especially tigers, and people. He believes that each painting is a soundless poem, and through all his works you can feel the poetry that he creates.

Sometimes he uses ancient poems as a theme, but he always adds his own style, perfectly combining movement and stillness. Therefore, he often creates his works unexpected, yet as was expected.

(Translated by Momo Pan)

Wang Yuanchang

Born in Jiading’s Anting Town in 1932, Wang Yuanchang entered Anting Normal College after graduating from Anting Zhenchuan Middle School. When in the college, his artist instructor was Song Wenzhi, a Chinese modern painter. Under Song’s influence, Wang was gradually fond of painting. Wang later was instructed by Lu Yanshao, a famous master of Chinese painting, also a Jiading native.

In the 1980s, Wang became an art teacher at the Jiading Teachers’ Advanced Studies School. Since that time he has never stopped painting and his skill has greatly improved. After he retired, he has continued to paint and travelled a lot to pick new scenes for his art.