On the afternoon of November 8, 2023, the "Golf Scenery: Zhang Shaoxia's Oil Painting Exhibition" successfully opened in the auditorium of the Art Museum of Nanjing Academy of Arts.
Lin Shuchuan, Deputy Director of the Art Museum of Nanjing Academy of Arts and Curator of this exhibition, introduced the composition of the exhibition - works and literature - at the opening ceremony. This exhibition showcases 40 landscape paintings by Mr. Zhang Shaoxia, all of which are based on the artist's life. These are the works he recorded as a golfer playing around the world. The literature section consists of Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's works and manuscripts from the 1980s. In the digital age, manuscripts are invaluable. From these manuscripts, we can see the rigorous academic process of the older generation of art historians, which is a spur and inspiration for younger scholars.
In 1982, Zhang Shaoxia stayed on as a teacher at Nanjing Academy of Arts after graduating. During his three-year postgraduate studies, he completed over a million word notes on European art history, which were later compiled as textbooks, totaling six books. At that time, due to a long-term lack of external communication, information in this area was very scarce, and there was almost no complete written introduction to European art history in China. However, Zhang Shaoxia's encyclopedia style collection of European art history not only greatly improved the level of textbook construction at Nanjing Academy of Arts, but also filled many gaps in China. After its official publication, this set of textbooks received widespread praise.
While teaching at Nanjing Academy of Arts, Mr. Zhang Shaoxia never stopped writing. He also completed the writing of "Outline of European Arts and Crafts History", "Asian Arts and Crafts History", and "African and American Arts and Crafts History". After the publication of these three works, they caused a huge response in the arts and crafts academic community and established his academic position in this field. Famous scholars Mr. Zhang Daoyi and Mr. Xi Jingzhi highly praised them, believing that they are rare pioneering works of great significance. These three books have also become essential books for many important art graduate and undergraduate students. Subsequently, Zhang achieved significant results, and his collaboration with Li Xiaoshan in writing "A History of Modern Chinese Painting" caused a sensation. This work, facing the present and addressing the current shortcomings, objectively criticizes and evaluates many contemporary artists. This courage and insight have shocked everyone, making it a groundbreaking work that has caused huge waves in the art world and sparked widespread discussion and debate. In today's discourse, it is definitely a phenomenal event.
Zhang Shaoxia is a person who combines intelligence and competence. He entered the business world as an art historian, university professor, and dean of the School of Art at Hainan University. He has worked hard for many years and has made remarkable achievements. Now, looking back, he went all out to paint, and within a few years, he had accumulated hundreds of works, which is truly astonishing.
He belongs to a painter with a single theme. To what extent is it singular? He only painted golf courses that he had personally visited and soaked in countless sweat for decades. That is the place he is most familiar with and also a place he loves very much. Drawing a golf course is very different from painting scenery. The scenery from all over the world is diverse and colorful, and golf courses in different regions have little difference due to their functional requirements. David Hogney repainted the scenery that Van Gogh had painted and sincerely exclaimed: Van Gogh painted it "like a real picture.". Whether it's Van Gogh or Hogney, scenery as an object ultimately has no specific limitations. They are able to infuse a large amount of emotions, freely express and assemble, as the saying goes, "All scenery and language are emotions.". Zhang Shaoxia focuses on painting golf courses, just as Morandi stares at bottles and jars. The subject matter guides the concept, and the concept confirms the painter's accuracy in choosing the subject matter. Li Xiaoshan, the Art Director of the Art Museum of Nanjing Academy of Arts, wrote in the preface of the exhibition.
Mr. Zhu Qingsheng, a professor in the Department of History at Peking University and rotating chairman of the International Society of Art History, talked about the development of contemporary Chinese art around the golf series of his works. Mr. Zhu recalled in 1986 that he, along with Mr. Shui Tianzhong and Mr. Gao Minglu, gave relevant reports on Western contemporary art, Chinese oil painting for a century, and the 85 art trend at the conference of the China Artists Association. This represents that contemporary Chinese art has entered a subtle era.
Speaking of the present, Mr. Zhu believes that the emergence of new media has brought us tremendous pressure and fear. Artificial intelligence and machine replication of materials and images cover most of art, and humans have substitutability. Mr. Zhu Qingsheng 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 be repeatedly calmed down and returned to the painting. At this time, if we have the ability to express our own discoveries and perceptions, then we have the possibility of further development. Therefore, in the era of new media, we need to demonstrate at certain critical moments that we still have the dignity of ourselves and the possibility of expressing ourselves differently today.
Mr. Liu Weidong, a professor of art history at Nanjing Academy of Arts, affirmed Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's tremendous contribution to 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.
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.