Ancient Threads, Newly Woven

A road of culture from east to west, long and winding, began at the heartland of ancient China -- Chang An, capital city of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang --- and extended all the way westward across the Yellow River, the Great Wall, snow-covered mountains and huge deserts, to the remote Mediterranean.

It was a long yet fascinating route that has known the weathers for over 2000 years. The interactions of peoples and cultures of different regions along this road were expressed in the in the Buddhist sculptures and frescoes of grottoes, in fervent and romantic dance and music and other aspects of daily life. Today, they are still embodied in the sense and way of life of the of the people of this area in every aspect of their ethnic cultural reality and historical memory. Such a heritage makes people think and imagine. This is what this exhibition is about: to introduce and probe the age-old but still variable cultural possibilities of the Silk Road area today.

The 86 works come from the artists living and working in Kashgar, Urumqi, Dunhuang, Lanzhous and Xian. Among them, some are professional artists in art academies, some are from local cultural centers, some are art researchers working in ancient grottoes, and some are teachers from art schools and colleges. There are local farmers and herdsmen as well. All the artists, except the farmer painters, have been educated professionally in art; some even studied in Europe. Their teachers were mostly from art colleges in Beijing, Xian, and Xinjiang Province. The Silk Road, to these artists of different nationalities, has been their living environment generation after generation. The influence of multiple ethnic cultures is reflected in their works.

For religious reasons, the Xinjiang ethnic peoples like the Uigur had little legacy of painting. After the 20^th century, a small number of young art lovers went out of the region to learn art. After the founding of the People’s Republic, many young students went to study in Beijing, Xian and Hangzhou. Local art colleges were also established. Most of the artists chose oil painting to depict their homeland. The sharp contrasts in character and temperament between these people, for whom horse riding, herding, singing and dancing are indispensable parts of life, and the inland agricultural people give Xinjiang’s art, though short in history, unique ethnic features.

The art of Xinjiang is a merges in many ways traditional Chinese art and the art of Central Asia, reflecting the influence of the Silk Road traffic on many areas of life and culture. A sharp contrast emerges when comparing Xinjiang's oil, ink and wash painting with that of the more traditional Chinese painting in other areas. The farther west one travels, the more pronounced the influence of the Central Asian cultures becomes and the less visible the traditional Chinese approach to art seems. The mixture is what makes this art unique.

Xinjjiang Province

Kashgar

Kashgar is the most important historic city in southern Xinjiiang. Inland Chinese people seldom see art works from Kashgar. The charm of the work from this region lies in its intimacy with the homeland and the people. In this exhibition, works by Kashgar artists Aibaidula Maimaiti, Mamat Sultan, Ali Ismayil and Gulinar Ablat and others portray daily life of the people of southern Xinjiang. Also included in this exhibition are naïve "farmer" paintings done by local farmers and herdsmen of nearby Makit County. Their subjects are full of imagination and depict in colorful and creative ways the mountains, deserts, and pastures and the traditions and daily life of the ethnic population of the area. The works from Kashgar with special pride and passion depict the life and traditions of the homeland, and the girls that are always accompanied by dance and music.

Urumqi

Xinjiang’s capital city is Urumqi. The majority of artists live in Urumqi because of its economic and cultural dominance. Urumqi artists for the mostpart show strong Uigur ethnic cultural characteristics. Artists such as Abdukerim Nasirdin, Huang Jianxin, Yalkun Hazi, Bai Gang, Muhter Yasen and Sun Liming radiate a technique rare to traditional Chinese painting, using thick, bright color and a decorative style, as well as an exciting tone or mood. Others like Yu Wenya, Turdi Imin, Li Anning, Kang Shuzeng and Li Jianguo have adopted in their works more elements of the Chinese traditional art conception, by using graceful and serene tone and brushwork to extend their feelings about nature and the realistic life of Xinjiang.

Gansu Province

Gansu province, shaped long and narrow, has always played an important role in bridging the midland and the western border area. Its humid eastern part adjoins the Shaanxi and Sichuan province, while the dramatic western mountains and deserts connect with Xinjiang.

Dunhuang

Dunhuang with its famous grottoes was an important city linking ancient China and the Western Region. Since 336 A.D., painters and sculptors from many places have assembled there. They contributed their artistic talents to the Buddhist world. In the 5^th century A.D., the Mogao Grottoes were already a sizable art treasury. Rediscovered in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, after nearly 500 years of being buried under the sands, the treasures have brought both scholars and Chinese artists back to the area. While protecting and studying the ancient frescoes and sculptures, the artists are also creating their own works., inspired by amazing wealth of material.

From the work of the artists of the Dunhuang Art Research Institute, we can see the way in which Chinese artists integrate traditional ways and the modern era, and how they have absorbed some elements of the ancient murals. For example, they use some special pigments found in the murals. an outcome of their research, in their own painting to obtain special effects. And the multi-cultural phenomenon of the Dunhuang art has inspired them to enrich their artistic imagination and liveliness. The works by Lou Jie, Gao Feng, Li Zhenfu, Hua Liang and Gao Shan show a combination of ancient traditions and expressive forms from modern western art, on the basis of which the artists have formed their own unique styles.

Lanzhou

Since ancient times, Lanzhou has been a source from which the midland culture spread westward. Jiang Zhixin and Duan Jianshan, are apparently closer in style to traditional art, and obviously have been influenced by the Dunhuang art. The artists of Lanzhou are good at learning from varied forms of art, but still center their subjects on the history, landscape and custom of the Northwest.

Shaanxi Province

Xian

As the starting and ending point for Silk Road journeys, Xian was also under the continuous influence of the Silk Road culture.

Called Chang’an in ancient times, the city was the capital over various periods in ancient Chinese history. It was especially great between the 7^th and 10^th centuries, at the height of Silk Road travel and trade. It was at that time the art center of China, where the origin of Chinese traditional figure painting, landscape painting and sculpture came into being. Of the many sources of the Silk Road arts, the midland art represented by Xian, was a predominant one. Although nowadays it is no longer the center of Chinese art, the artists still retain the character of their predecessors. The works by Cui Zhenkuan and Zhang Zhenxue suggest the feeling that ancient poets and artists had for landscape. What they valued in their art is the simplicity of the farmers of the Yellow Earth Plateau, as well as the plainness and humor of folk arts. The image of an old farmer of northern Shaanxi painted by Guo Quanzhong reflects a life philosophy held by people from generation to generation. Xing Qingren and Zhang Lizhu tried to abstract the folk woodcuts and opera images, and their art creation has always been inspired by the aspiration of the people living on the Yellow Earth Plateau. Unlike some coastal artists, these artists never attempted to catch in haste the popular art trends. Their art approach, just like the ballads sung by farmers of the plateau, always has it own tempo and ease.

From Xinjiang to Chang'an, the Silk Road has nurtured varied approaches to and forms of art. The thing they share is the extension of the understanding of and feeling for the Silk Road culture, by using individual languages in the process of everlasting exchange and integration.