From Life Insights: Xiang Lei's Recent Works
Warmth, Chinese Painting, 96cm x 40cm, by Xiang Lei
Rural Sentiments of Ancient Plains, Chinese Painting, 136cm x 96cm, by Xiang Lei
Rain Soaking Autumn Mountain (局部), Chinese Painting, by Xiang Lei
Xiang Lei is a young painter from Nanjing. During his studies at the Beijing Academy of Painting, he brought many works for me to see. His paintings have numerous commendable aspects. To further express my views, I shared my own artistic insights and connected them with the creative works and thoughts of many renowned predecessors in history, engaging in candid exchanges with him. He has high insight, and his painting works possess unique artistic language, which undoubtedly stems from his dedicated study of traditional painting during his youth and his current multifaceted cultivation.
The growth and development of any culture always have their roots, and this is especially true for Chinese painting. Accomplished Chinese painters will deeply research tradition, but they must also innovate. However, innovation cannot be detached from life. Successful painters are those who can unify these elements and depict the beauty of real life, primarily distinctive things, in beautiful forms on the canvas. Moreover, this must go through the painter's selection and deeper artistic refinement to achieve sublimation.
Life drawing is the source of life for artists' creative work, an important path for absorbing nourishment and perfecting oneself, and expressing one's aspirations through objects.
For many years, Xiang Lei has often delved into life and nature, experiencing the genuine mountains and waters of nature, and the diverse customs and sentiments of life. This kind of life insight allows him to incorporate natural scenery and rich personal feelings into his ink-and-brush structure. A comprehensive review of China's landscape painting history reveals that many excellent works are imbued with a strong sense of life, reflecting the author's profound understanding of nature. "Searching all the strange peaks to make drafts" was the artistic proposition of Qing dynasty painter Shi Tao, essentially emphasizing that artistic creation cannot be detached from real life. The traditional Chinese painting concept of "learning from nature" still holds extraordinary positive significance today.
Xiang Lei's recent works are sincere reflections of life and nature, singing praises to his artistic life. The artistic charm of landscape painting lies not only in its content and form but also in the personality and character the painter imparts to the work. Xiang Lei fully understands this principle, continuously pursuing artistic innovation and integrating his life experiences, opening up his own painting path. His future prospects are promising, and he will surely have more inspiring and better developments.
I hope that he can absorb the strengths of various aspects within the vast and inclusive atmosphere of Chinese culture, continuously enhancing his own cultivation, and in the exchange and integration of northern and southern landscapes, construct a landscape scene filled with joy and his own life experiences, creating an artistic new realm that provokes thought and can be shared with others.
Note: The author of this article is a professional painter at the Beijing Academy of Painting.
Xiang Lei was born in 1970 and graduated from the Beijing Academy of Painting. He is a member of the China Arts and Crafts Association, a professional painter of the China Shiqi Art Research Society, and a contracted painter of the Famous Chinese Calligraphy and Painting List. In 2008, he was rated as one of the top 100 contemporary painters with the most academic value and market potential in landscape painting. His works have been exhibited multiple times in places such as Jiangsu, Beijing, Shenzhen, France, Germany, and Australia. Some of his works have been collected by domestic and international art museums, government agencies, corporations, and private collectors from countries like Australia, Japan, and Germany. He has published "Contemporary Middle-aged and Young Painters - Xiang Lei Volume", "Famous Chinese Calligraphers and Painters - Xiang Lei", and "Contemporary Painters with the Most Academic Value and Market Potential - Xiang Lei".
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