Wu Yifeng (1907- 1998) is an outstanding artist who has been forgotten for a long time. Wu was born in Pinghu, Zhejiang, graduated from Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts on 1928, and settled in Chengdu on 1932. In the 1930s and 1940s, he took Xu Xiake's Travels and traveled all over the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in Bashan and Shushui, creating sketches. On the rugged mountain road, he walked with the caravan and experienced hardships. In the mid-1950s, he sketched along the Baocheng Line under construction, walked to Zhujianmen, then went north, crossed the Qinling Mountains, took the plank road, crossed Hanzhong to Baoji, then returned to Nanzhi, and followed Jialing River to Chongqing. After Jialing River sketched, he went to Daba Mountain to collect wind and sketch. In his later years, he rekindled his ambition of "going big" and went to Lushan, Huangshan, Jiuhua, Taishan, the Great Wall and Jiangnan to sketch. There are countless live sketches in my life, and I have created thousands of famous landscapes, and my works have won high praise. What is on display here is just the tip of the iceberg, clusters of flowers.
Wu Yifeng studied under Chen Jiaan, Zheng Wuchang, Zhu Tianfan, Huang, Xie Gongzhan, Lou Xinhu and Xiong Songquan in his early years. He is a painter, who participates in both the guidance and the new school education. Its scene sketches are often sketched with brushes; All his creations are based on sketches. Lu said that Wu's "Shan Ye, Yuanlin, Ningchu, Rapidly Flowing Rivers, Misty Rain, Datong City, Beautiful" can all be obtained by name. This feature is rare in China's painting history. Wu's sketching objects are often described according to Xu Xiake's travel notes. In his works, he always tries to combine the aesthetic imagination of Xu Xiake's travels with the spatial images he sketched. It can be said that his works have "the quality of artistic geography". Another outstanding feature of Wu's works is that he insists on using traditional pen and ink methods and color methods to construct space and portray images, striving to maintain the traditional style while gaining a modern sense without falling into the embarrassment of "old bottles and new wines". In the painter's own words, it is "to write the real scene between heaven and earth with the pen and ink of the ancients."
This exhibition is just the beginning of our approach to Wu Yifeng. His artistic works, artistic experience and dedication are precious heritages of China's art history in the 20th century, which need our care, exploration and study.
On the morning of June 29th and August 20th, 2007, "Wu Yifeng Centennial Birthday Exhibition" was grandly unveiled at China Art Museum. Sun, Minister of Culture, Zheng, Vice Minister of Culture and President of the Palace Museum, Zhai Huisheng, Party Secretary of China Journalists Association, Qian Linxiang, President of China National Painting Academy and Deputy Director of China Art Museum, Qian Laizhong, Director of Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Chairman of Sichuan Artists Association, Ma Xueteng, Standing Committee Member of Pinghu Municipal Committee and Propaganda Minister, Gu Yufeng, Vice Mayor of pinghu city People's Government, and more than 300 people including relatives, friends and representatives from all walks of life attended.
On the afternoon of August 20th, the "Wu Yifeng Painting Art Seminar" sponsored by the Institute of Fine Arts of China Academy of Fine Arts was held in the Academic Lecture Hall of China Art Museum. Shao Dazhen, Xue Yongping, Lang, Liang Jiang, Deng Jiade, Sun Ke, Liu Xilin and many other "big names" in the art theory circle gathered together to have a heated discussion on Wu Yifeng's painting art, artistic thought, artistic path and his contribution to the art history of China. It is generally believed that Mr. Wu Yifeng painted realistic landscapes with traditional brush and ink, and was an outstanding and important painter who promoted the reform and development of realistic sketch landscape painting in the 20th century.
From September 20 to 25, 2007, in Pinghu, Wu Yifeng's hometown, "Wu Yifeng Centennial Birthday Exhibition" met people in Wu Yifeng Art Museum. Ma Xueteng, member of the Standing Committee of Pinghu Municipal Committee and Minister of Propaganda, Gu Yufeng, deputy mayor of pinghu city Municipal People's Government, Feng Meixian, vice chairman of pinghu city, Luo Lincun, son of Mr. Wu Yifeng, and people from all walks of life attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition. During the exhibition week, * * * received more than 6,000 visitors from this city, and also attracted art lovers from Jiaxing and surrounding areas to watch. The audience responded strongly. Sun Xianlong, secretary of Pinghu Municipal Party Committee, also visited the exhibition hall during the exhibition.
Although Mr. Wu Yifeng has traveled all over China all his life, he has always been attached to his hometown. Before his death, he decided to donate his life's works of art to his hometown for free. In 2000, according to Mr. Wu Yifeng's wishes, the People's Government of pinghu city opened up land in Danghu Park in the urban area, and built the "Wu Yifeng Art Museum" according to the original appearance of the "Yifeng Caotang" built by Mr. in Sichuan that year. His works were permanently collected and displayed, which not only carried out foreign cultural exchanges, but also added a strong bright color to "Jinping Lake".
June/KOOC-0/June/KOOC-0/8-June 22/KOOC-0/June/KOOC-0/8, 2007, "Wu Yifeng Centennial Birthday Exhibition" opened in Hangzhou West Lake Art Museum. Yang Jianxin, Director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture; Zheng Xiaoxing, Director of Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture; Chen Guanzhong, Deputy Director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture; Wan Yawei, former secretary of pinghu city Municipal Committee; Ma Xueteng, member of the Standing Committee of Pinghu Municipal Committee and Minister of Propaganda; Gu Yufeng, Vice Mayor of pinghu city Municipal People's Government; Xiao Feng, former President of China Academy of Fine Arts and Chairman of Provincial Artists Association; Zhang Huasheng, Dean of Zhejiang Painting Academy and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles; And relatives of Mr. Wu Yifeng attended the opening ceremony. Also attending the opening ceremony and watching the exhibition were a large number of famous painters and calligraphers from cultural and art institutions such as the Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Painting, such as Liu Jiang, Zhou Cangmi, Li Zihou, Zhu Han, Qian Dali, Lu Guozhang, Li Xiuqin and Zhang Yao.
At the opening ceremony, Mr. Xiao Feng, former president of China Academy of Fine Arts and chairman of the Provincial Artists Association, said in his speech that there were two heavyweight "Second Martial Arts" exhibitions in Hangzhou these two days. Wu Guanzhong is the "crown" of Chinese painting, and Wu Yifeng is the "peak" of Chinese painting, which is another peak.
2007165438+1October 30th-65438+February 6th165438+1October 30th at 3pm, "Wu Yifeng Centennial Birthday Exhibition" was grandly opened in Sichuan Art Museum. Zheng Xiaoxing, director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture, first delivered a welcome speech on behalf of the organizers. Deng Jiade, vice chairman of Sichuan Artists Association, delivered a speech on behalf of Long Rui, president of Chinese Painting Research Institute, and spoke highly of Mr. Wu Yifeng's artistic achievements. Ma Yueran, a lifelong judge of Nobel Prize in Literature, an academician of Swedish College of Literature, a famous sinologist and an old friend of Mr. Wu Yifeng, made a special trip from Sweden to attend the opening ceremony and deeply recalled his contacts with Wu Yifeng. Gu Yufeng, Vice Mayor of pinghu city Municipal People's Government, also delivered a speech. Li Congjun, Party Secretary of Xinhua News Agency, sent a congratulatory letter to congratulate the exhibition on its success in Chengdu. Mr. Wu Yifeng's family, Sichuan cultural celebrities Liu Shahe and Che Fu, and famous painters Li Huanmin and Cen attended the opening ceremony. Xi Fang Yi, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Sichuan Provincial People's Congress, Tao Wuxian, Party Secretary of Sichuan Provincial Political Consultative Conference, Qian Laizhong, Chairman of Sichuan Artists Association, and other leaders and guests also attended the opening ceremony and cut the ribbon.
Chengdu is the last and most important stop of this exhibition. The exhibition is arranged according to the four periods of Wu Yifeng's artistic career, among which "Jialing Mountain Color" and "Victory of Minjiang River", which are known as "Riverside Scene in the Qingming Festival in the 20th century", also appear in the exhibition. For the first time, Wu Yifeng's "Wuxia Refuge Map" and "Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter" reflecting the four scenic spots in central Sichuan were exhibited.
The four places toured the exhibition, and the audience was like a cloud, admiring again and again. After half a century's silence, Wu Yifeng and his works once again attracted people's attention. Some critics think that "this is the best exhibition of China landscape paintings seen in many art galleries in recent years". Public opinion generally believes that Wu Yifeng is one of the most fruitful painters in the 20th century who explored the transformation of landscape painting by sketching. His sketching adheres to the traditional brush and ink and spatial structure, forming a unique path to eulogize the landscape and new look of southwest China with traditional ink and wash. Lang Shao Jun, a famous art critic, called the exhibition "Excavating the Buried History", from which the art world will "re-recognize an artist who has been neglected for a long time but is really important". Xue Yongnian, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and a critic of art history, said: "One of Wu Yifeng's outstanding features or contributions, just like his own nickname' Great Traveler', went to nature and life. He used Chinese paintings to sketch instead of western paintings introduced later, thus restoring the vitality of landscape painting and developing its techniques." Chen Lvsheng, an art critic, wrote in Art Daily on August 25th, 2007 that "Mr. Wu Yifeng's creative practice explains the history of Chinese painting reform in the 20th century and is an important case to study the development and changes of Chinese painting in the 20th century", and concluded that this exhibition was a highlight of China art in 2007.
At the same time, to commemorate Mr. Wu Yifeng's centenary birthday, China Cultural Relics Publishing House also published a series of books, such as Letters from Teachers and Friends of Yifeng Caotang, Wu Yifeng's Landscape Collection, Wu Yifeng's Art Chronicle, Wu Yifeng's Research Collection, and Minjiang Jialing River Landscape Scroll, for your convenience. On September 30th, 2007, Wu Yifeng Art Museum in pinghu city also held "Wu Yifeng's Poetry Calligraphy Exhibition and Works Launch Conference". Known as a "great traveler", Wu Yifeng not only created a large number of art masterpieces, but also wrote a large number of travel notes and poems. His poems express his feelings for mountains and rivers and the times, reflecting not only the bright times, but also his emotional and ideological course. To commemorate the centenary of Wu Yifeng's birth, Wu Yifeng Art Museum invited young calligraphers from China to write poems for Wu Yifeng, aiming to show his poetic skills and profound humanistic background. It is reported that CCTV's ten sets of "Exploration and Discovery" columns also plan to shoot a feature film about Wu Yifeng in 2008.
Wu Yifeng's Centennial Birthday Series, especially the publication of the Wu Yifeng Art Exhibition and related books, will surely attract extensive attention from all walks of life, including researchers and collectors, to Mr. Wu Yifeng and his artistic achievements. Mr. Wu Yifeng's artistic thought, painting art and artistic path will have a far-reaching impact on the research and development of China's artistic theory and creation. Only when there are mountains and rivers can talents be produced. A peak lasts for a hundred years and a legacy lasts for a thousand years.