'Inspired by Nature' turning the sky blue

Veteran artist Jin Lide's exhibition “Inspired by Nature” is currently on display at Liu Haisu Art Museum.

Born in 1931 in Zhenhai, Zhejiang Province, Jin remains a low profile in the art community. The exhibition features the museum’s collection of the artist’s works.

At the age of 11, Jin came to Shanghai as a trainee to work in an electrical factory, but he loved drawing very much. He later studied painting at the New China Art Research Institution in 1949 and tutored under Pan Sitong (1903-1980) and Chen Qiucao (1906-1988), all big names in China’s modern art history.

In the same year, he enrolled at Hangzhou National College of Art. During that period, the country was in desperate need of artists in different genres, so Jin learned oil painting, water-color, sculpture and ink-wash painting at the college.

“Art comes life” is Jin’s art motto, and he believes his art should be approached by ordinary people. His painting “When the Rain Is Over, the Sky Will Be Blue” won him overnight fame at a national art competition.

Jin, a former colleague of Fu Baoshi (1904-1965), also a heavyweight name in China’s modern history, took Fu’s advice to absorb the essence of Western art and combine it with his works.

Based on his years of sketching and art trips to Western countries, Jin gradually established his distinctive art language in water-colors.

Apart from the role of an artist, Jin is also an art educator. He not only tutored at the art academies in Nanjing and Shanghai, but also published a series of art education books, which introduces new students to a variety of important art techniques, explained through some of the world’s most recognizable masterpieces.

Exhibition info

Date: Through October 31, 10am-5pm

Venue: Liu Haisu Art Museum

Address: 1609 Yan’an Rd W.