Artist's Passion for and Portrait of His Hometown:
A sketch of Wang Yidong, an oil painter

After the National Young Artists Exhibition in 1984, Wang Yidong's "The Ancient Village" was collected by the National Chinese Arts Museum. From then on, his work has been exhibiting regularly as a treasure of the collections of the museum. When he finished the piece, he was only 28 years old. His works, with strict and steady style, simple and quick-paced, superb skills, present a fresh vision to the audience. This world is filled with his passion for his hometown Yimeng Mountains, the vast land in north of China, and for the hard-working peasants there.

Wang Yidong was born in 1955 and involved the Arts Program of the Shandong Arts School. After graduation, he became a teacher there. Soon he created the oil painting The Spring in Yimen Mountains. In 1978, he was admitted by the Oil Painting Department of the Central Arts Academy.

He was offered a teaching position at the Department upon finishing his studies in 1982. He created many new paintings which reflected the peasants' life in the Yimen Mountains, including The Old Village, Wang Yuzhen, Mid-day Break, Going to Fair, Mother and Daughter. These works reveal the historical process through picturing of the rural figures, and thus established his stature in arts circle.

Wang Yidong's art creation can be viewed in two periods by the year 1986. In the first, most of his works were based on his personal experience, which is closely connected with the feelings and wishes of the peasants living in north China. Wang Yidong feels not alone with the peasants. His sketches for them revealed the complex of their soul, showing the aesthetics of the Chinese culture. Wang Yuzhen, presented once on the 16th World Arts Festival in France, was created in 1982. Through a vivid depiction of the staring eyes, slightly opened mouth, and closed feet of the heroine, the artist documented the shyness and nervousness of the girl. Her casually tied clothes, coarse hands, and tired body present the audience her love for the land and the scenes of her hard-working day in and day out . The kindness, innocence and strength call forth respect for and sympathy to her. She is the representative of the Chinese countrywomen over the thousands years history.

In 1986, Wang Yidong began to reveal the themes of his works through simple and quick-paced, but individual artistic language. He tried to disclose the intrinsic essence through truthful presentation of the surface of life, namely, reveal the rational and abstract content through accurate and genuine outline of real objects and scenes.
The Waking of Insects describes the spring view in northern China, but it is more than a reproduction of the true life. He put in his individual art language and re-created the natural scenes based on his unique feelings with the time.

Wang Yidong believes that the key to express the essence of the Chinese culture is the expression of unique characteristics of nationality and locality. To be specific, an artist should pay more attention to the Chinese approach of form, colour and taste.

His refined employment of black and white, black and red, black and gold, and linear combinations in traditional mural painting and folk Spring Festival pictures render his works a representation of real life and the significance of history.

As a Chinese artist, his roots in China, especially in the Yimen Mountains. He once said, "For artists, without cultural root and identy are the most horrible things." He therefore returned to China after several years'studies in the U.S.. He believes, "To paint Chinese views, I must do it in China." How to characterize well Chinese views and people, he has provided us answers.

▲