On Seeing Zhang Shaoxia’s Golf Course Landscapes Exhibition

Huang Zongxian

Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Professor of Art History

Between This World and Another

Where does Mr. Zhang Shaoxia belong to? He should belong to the academic world. However, while he achieved remarkable success in art history research, he decisively turned and went to the ends of the earth, with the determination and melancholy expressed by the lines "Shrill winds rise, waters cold; the hero shall go and never come home.” Then, he rose like a whirlwind in the business arena, the unfamiliar territory of a foreign land. Though he bid farewell to this world, he remains nostalgic, constantly gazing back. Like a fisherman chasing dreams to a distant land, the farther he drifts from the shore, the more significant this world becomes as his spiritual homeland. Between this world and another, by drifting and looking back, Mr. Zhang Shaoxia has crafted a colourful and fulfilling life.

Scenes and Reflections

Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's exhibition of "Golf Course" landscapes appears to be a seemingly objective presentation, but there are invisible ideals in his visible scenery. The golf course is more of a spiritual space than a physical one, where tension is formed by the contrast of reason and sensibility, discipline and transcendence, planning and passion, much like the state of life in art. Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's golf course is a scene and a reflection, reflecting the intense aspirations in life's journey, transcendence, and gracefulness. His paintings are tranquil - are they the moment before the climax, as German critic Lessing said, or the endless introspection after the curtain falls on the grand performance? They leave the audience with space for imagination and reflection.

Vast Impression (Cypress Point Club) 150×80cm Oil on Canvas 2019

Plainness and Materialization

The visual rhetoric of Zhang’s "Golf Course" landscapes is plain. Mr. Zhang Shaoxia is a master of Western classical oil painting techniques. The composition strives for an internal structural rhythm in its steadiness, the colours pursue a sense of collision in their harmony, and the brushstrokes seek rich variations in their composure. Golf courses are typically bustling with activity, yet human figures are almost absent in Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's landscapes. Despite that, a bright light of life always shines in his landscapes, as shown under the sunlight and clouds, among the swaying trees, lawns, ponds, and along the pathways, flowing with musical rhythm. It is a place for the spirit of a person who saw the world and weathered the storms, the aesthetic materialization of someone who returned to a state of tranquillity after experiencing world-shaking events. “Tranquility and delight” is Hegel's most exquisite summary of Western classical art. Isn't it also the aesthetic essence of Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's "Golf Course" landscapes?

Late Autumn (Rosedale Golf Club) 150×80cm Oil on Canvas 2021

One must feel tranquil and open-minded after experiencing the ups and downs of life. What stays unchanged, however, is their poetic ideals deep inside. Golf courses and art will always be the distant land for Mr. Zhang Shaoxia.

Liang Qichao once said that the pleasure of art lies in its ability to “bridge alternative worlds and inspire aspiration.” Golf courses and art are alternative worlds, yet they are also the eternal shores in Mr. Zhang Shaoxia's heart.