Exhibition of Wu Guanzhong’s Works to Kick off in the Hunan Museum

Exhibition of Wu Guanzhong’s Works—the “Unbroken Kite String” co-organized by the Hunan Museum and Zhejiang Art Museum will be launched from October 23, 2018 to January 10, 2019 at the second exhibition hall of the Hunan Museum. 80 pieces of works of Wu, all of which were selected collections from Zhejiang Art Museum，will be on display then, including 41 sketches (like Journey to Yunnan ), 10 oil paintings(like Dream in Southern China) and 29 ink-colored paintings (like bamboo grove ). Wu has donated many of his works to such places as National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Art Museum, Zhejiang Art Museum and the National Gallery Singapore to make art more accessible to the public. 

From the period of the 1950s through the 1970s, Wu was devoted to the landscape oil paintings. His works, full of fabulous traditional Chinese elements and imagery expressions, are imbued with poetic beauty reminiscent of the Oriental World. 

 Among the works displayed, The Tibetan Woman created in 1961 is the earliest one, which is of practical value and also a mirror of the artist’s aesthetic tendency. The Eyes，created in 2009，the year before his death, is his only cat-themed work and also the only one of his works that enjoyed the privilege of being hung in his living room. When representatives of Zhejiang Art Museum went to visit him, Wu picked it down  and sent it to them without hesitation, saying: “From the eyes of cat, you can tell that he has seen through everything. ”

From 1970s, Wu was dedicated to the creation and exploration of Chinese painting, trying to combine it with western skills. Traditional brushes and ink imparted with modern spirit amazingly revealed the rhythm and vitality of the nature, ushering viewers  to a brand new artistic realm. 

Ink colored works presented in this exhibition vary in styles and contents, including The Old House (intends to depict the beauty of scenery in southern China) and The Forbidden City（aims to grasp a more magnificent view of the imperial palace）

The 1980s witnessed the turning point of Wu’s artist conceptions, when he put forward a series of practical methods and aesthetics questions. One can have a glimpse of the talent of the artist from his Journey to Yunnan, a masterpiece created in 1978, which vividly captured the wonderful scenery and native culture of Yunan province, assuming great artistic and historical  significance.