Exploring mural creations at first such exhibition in Shanghai
"The Splendor of Space – Shanghai Mural Painting Exhibition" is on at the Shanghai Jiu Ke Shu Art Center, offering a glimpse of current Chinese murals.
Mention mural paintings, and most would think about the paintings inside the famous Dunhuang caves in northwest China's Gansu Province. In fact, it is rare to find a group of modern Chinese mural paintings in the city.
"The Splendor of Space – Shanghai Mural Painting Exhibition," recently unveiled at the Shanghai Jiu Ke Shu Art Center, offers a glimpse of current Chinese murals. Organized by the Shanghai Artists' Association, the Mural Department of the China Academy of Art and the Fine Art College at Shanghai Normal University, the exhibition features 121 mural works. Some were selected from 655 submissions, and others were painted by renowned Chinese artists.
"Mural painting is one of the oldest formative arts of mankind," said Yu Xiaofu, director of the Fine Art College at Shanghai Normal University. "Because of its special trait in public art, murals have a close link with a city's development. This is the first time that such an exhibition is being held in Shanghai."
The subjects of the murals on display vary from ancient legends, historical stories to the modern city landscapes and minority life scenes.
Frankly speaking, due to the daunting size of the murals, it was very difficult to house all the original works at one exhibition, not to mention that some have already been installed in public spaces. Yet the pictures of the original paintings might offer a "glimpse" into the whole for viewers.
One of the murals on show at the exhibition.
Xu Jiang's "Sunflowers of the Four Seasons"
For example, the mural work created by Xu Jiang which has already been placed in a public square in Hangzhou, neighboring Zhejiang Province, actually re-defines the possibility for murals.
Renowned for his subject of withered sunflowers, Xu applies rolls of withered sunflowers made in bronze onto this mural. Different from the traditional murals which mainly are plain and oil, these sunflowers appear like relief on four separate tableau under differently hued backdrops representing the four seasons.
Exhibition info:
Date: Through January 27, 10am-6pm
Venue: Jiu Ke Shu Art Center
Address: 99 Shuheng Rd, Fengxian District
奉贤区树桓路99号
