On November 8th, the opening ceremony of "Golf Scenery: Zhang Shaoxia's Oil Painting Exhibition" was held in the auditorium of the Art Museum of Nanjing Academy of Arts.

Zhang Shaoxia is one of the famous scholars studying Western art history in contemporary China. In 1979, he enrolled as one of the first batch of graduate students in art history theory in the Department of Fine Arts at Nanjing Academy of Arts, under the tutelage of art history guru Liu Ruli. He was devoted to the research and compilation of foreign arts and crafts history, and in the 1980s, he published three monographs, "Outline of European Arts and Crafts History," "African and American Arts and Crafts," and "Asian Arts and Crafts History," which were the "first cornerstone" of domestic and foreign arts and crafts history (according to Zhang Daoyi) and "first textbook" (according to Xi Jingzhi). In 1986, Professor Zhang Shaoxia and his student Li Xiaoshan co authored the first sensational monograph on the history of modern Chinese painting, which is regarded as the cornerstone of modern Chinese painting research.

"Today is a special day, and this is also a special exhibition that I have planned. Many teachers on campus have come to see this exhibition now, and everyone has expressed that they grew up reading these books. I am particularly nervous when I hear this sentence because I am curating for my grandfather." Lin Shuchuan, the curator of this exhibition and the deputy director of the Art Museum of Nanjing Academy of Arts, introduced the composition of this exhibition in his speech: works and literature. The work includes 40 landscape paintings, all based on Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's life. Since 2018, he has been dedicated to sketching and oil painting golf course landscapes around the world, leaving behind nearly a thousand golf course landscape works. The literature section includes Mr. Zhang's works and manuscripts from the 1980s. In the digital age, manuscripts are already precious and valuable. From these manuscripts, we can see the rigorous academic process of the older generation of art historians, which is a spur and motivation for future generations of scholars.

Mr. Zhu Qingsheng, a professor in the Department of History at Peking University and rotating chairman of the International Society of Art History, discussed the rise of the Chinese economy and the development of contemporary art after China's reform and opening up around the exhibition works. "Marx once said, 'The economic foundation determines the superstructure.' When it comes to the symbols of China's economic development, everyone will think of Shenzhen. In fact, golf courses are also one of the landmarks. 'When it comes to the present, he believes that the emergence of new media has brought great pressure, and artificial intelligence and machine replication of materials and images cover most of the art, making human creation increasingly substitutable.". He said that in painting creation, only by "gazing" can the last gap and path of human dignity not be deprived - by standing still in front of a painting for more than three seconds, all memories and history can repeatedly calm down, and return to the painting. "In the era of new media, we need to demonstrate at some special critical moments that today we still have the possibility of self dignity and self differential expression."

Mr. Liu Weidong, a professor of art history at Nanjing Academy of Arts, praised Mr. Zhang Shaoxia for his tremendous contributions in the construction of the Southern Art discipline and textbooks. On the one hand, Zhang Shaoxia, with his persistence and sensitivity to academia, used the sample book "Ancient Egyptian Art" to complete the application for the second batch of art doctoral programs at Nanyi; On the other hand, the encyclopedia style European art history completed by Zhang Shaoxia has greatly improved the level of textbook construction for Nanyi. Therefore, returning to his alma mater where he worked and studied to hold an exhibition this time is a very meaningful thing. Liu Weidong said, "Learning art is very fortunate. Art is our enlightenment, allowing us to appreciate the beauty of life. With art, I think we will live happier!"

After the opening ceremony, Zhang Shaoxia donated his works to the Nanjing Academy of Arts Art Museum, and Lin Shuchuan, the deputy director of the museum, accepted the donation on behalf of the museum.

This exhibition will continue until November 27th.