From "Figurative" To "Abstract"

As one of the irreplaceable painters of 20 th century Chinese painting,Wu Guanzhong’s unique and distinctive artistic style has had a positive and far-reaching impact on the field of Chinese art,and his controversial aesthetic ideas have brought deep reflection and enlightenment to academic researchers and artists at home and abroad.Wu Guanzhong’s paintings are a blend of East and West,taking the spirit of Chinese art as their life and incorporating the essence of contemporary art from Western countries.In his works,he draws the language of form to perfection,completely departing from traditional standards of ink and brushwork to present poetic and pictorial moods of unique design.A master painter who conveys beauty through his paintings,Wu Guanzhong uses his brushes to outline the ’great beauty of the nation’ to the people,applying formal,abstract and integrated artistic beauty to his paintings with aplomb.The rhythms in his paintings inherit the poetic and pictorial spirit of Chinese plastic art,while at the same time having the structural support of contemporary painting in Western countries.This essay is based on Wu Guanzhong’s paintings,which,at various points in his life,connect the lines of his artistic experience and lay out the facets of his artistic thought.Wu Guanzhong’s life cycle can be divided into three main stages: the early figurative-realistic period,the imaginative period of exploration and transformation,and the abstract period in his later years,which reflect the process of change from’figurative’ to ’abstract’.At the same time,the main ideas of "formal beauty","abstract beauty","the kite does not stop" and "ink and brush equals zero" have also contributed to Wu Guanzhong’s art.Wu Guanzhong’s artistic ideas also provided the theoretical support for his artistic creation.These ideas guided him in his quest for the innovative development of ’Chineseization of oil painting’ and ’modernization of Chinese painting’.Throughout his career,he has always implemented the artistic principles of ’ink and brush equals zero’ and ’kite without string’,and has infused his works with a deep affection for the people.As a result,his works are full of national sentiments,and both the "shape" and the "intention" of his works contain the "national soul".Throughout his life,Wu Guanzhong pursued "great beauty",the magnificent beauty of life and the grand beauty of the universe.He taught every artist to stand up and express a flesh-and-blood sense of history and life,and advocated that artists should have their own independent thoughts and personalities,so that they could all stand on their own artistic heights and draw nutrients from the vast forest of art.Academic research into Wu Guanzhong’s artistic thought can contribute to the modernisation of Chinese painting,and also play a vital role in promoting the development of Chinese art criticism.