A. - The works selected for this exhibition present a retrospective on Xia Jingshan's artistic trajectory, showing works from his earlier phases and how they came together to form his definitive style. Later
in life Read More.....
Q. - Why were there particular pieces selected for this exhibition, from all the other works Tong Hongshen has produced?
A. - While Xia's works represent the traditional threads of Chinese culture stretching back into the past, Tong Hongsheng's works represent these threads finding new life and continuation in a contemporary context. Read More.....
Q. - Does Xia Jingshan exhibition tell a particular story through these works? If so, what is the story? Why is it important for show visitors to know about this? If not, why were these works grouped together?
A. - Each of Xia Jingshan's paintings can be taken as a lesson. Some tell a story from folk traditions or the Buddhist canon meant to inform the viewer about morality or spiritual cultivation. Others represent the artist's meditations on spiritual ideas. Together they form a comprehensive view of the traditional Chinese outlook on life.
Q. - Does Tong Hongshen exhibition tell a particular story through these works? If so, what is the story? Why is it important for show visitors to know about this? If not, why were these works grouped together?
A. - Tong's paintings focus on the life of Buddhist monks and devotees.
Tong Hongshen's paintings depict Buddhism in its current state, through the lives of holy men and related Buddhist imagery. Not only are they a portrait of contemporary Buddhism, they are also imbued with Tong's personal outlook. Read More.....
Q. - Tell us about Xia Jingshan's works. How would you describe them in detail? Is it a brush painting or a scroll painting? Who / what are the images that are depicted? What was the motivation for Xia Jingshan to paint these particular works. What does the writing say on the scrolls.
Any common passages or poems? All Buddhist? What other sources?
A. - Most of Xia Jingshan's paintings are done in what is known as the gongbi, or 'meticulous' style. This style is marked by rigid precision and intricate brushstrokes, in contrast to the more unruly freehand style of the Chinese literati painters. Read More.....
Q. - Tell us about Tong Hongshen works. How would you describe them in detail? Who are the people he paints? Why did he choose these people? Where did he paint them and why did he paint them? His style is so different from Xia Jingshan, how did this happen? How is he Xia Jingshan's preeminent student when his style is so very different?
A. - Before meeting Xia Jingshan, Tong Hongshen was an accomplished oil painter in his own right. At the time, he was well known for his portraits of famous figures. Read More.....
Q. - Tell us about the school Xia Jingshan established from an art perspective. What does he teach his students?
A. - At Xia Jingshan's school, artistic technique is only one part of the curriculum. Personal cultivation according to traditional cultural values is a key component of his approach to painting, so much of the education also focuses on this. Read More.....
Q. - What is the importance of Xia Jingshan's work / career in Chinese Art for the Chinese People?
A. - One of the most important aspects of Xia Jingshan's artistic practice is that it has revived many traditions of Buddhist and Chinese painting that were previously on the verge of being lost forever
Read More.....
Q. - Why should people come to see this exhibition?
A. - This exhibition provides a rare chance to see Chinese traditional culture in a living, breathing form. Most traditional Chinese painting on display in the West was created decades, if not centuries ago.
Read More.....
Q. - Why has your XiIa Jingshan selected Los Angeles for this exhibition? Is this exhibition going any where else? If so, when?
A. - Xia Jingshan lived in Los Angeles for decades, where he engaged in a dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures. Read More.....
Q. - Which important collectors collect Xia Jingshan's works in China and in the rest of the world?
A. - Xia's portrait of the Kwanyin Bodhisattva was collected by the Beijing Palace Museum after a solo exhibition there. His work has also been collected by other institutions and private collectors around the world. (a list is currently unavailable, but we're looking).
For the Reading Room:
Q. - Why is this important to the Chinese People? Why should the western world know about this particular time period of art / architecture?
A. - Qing dynasty style. Anhui style.
This house is a typical example of Ming and Qing dynasty architecture in Anhui Province.
Read More.....
Q. - What are the most important elements of this reading room?
A. - Entirely made of wood, no nails whatsoever.
First, there is the structure itself. The house is made entirely of wood, with interlocking joints that require no nails or plaster. Read More.....
Q. - Tell us about the architecture from this period? Why is it important in Chinese history and how has it influenced modern art & architecture in China?
A. - Why is this reading room paired with the works from Xia Jingshan & Tong Hongshen?
The reading room was chosen for inclusion in this exhibition because it is the setting for which Chinese painting originally developed. Read More.....
