On October 23rd, the first-ever Fujian Biennial of Young and Middle-Aged Art and Calligraphy opened at the Fujian Art Museum, marking a significant cultural highlight of the 9th Fujian Arts Festival.
During our conversation with participants, you could sense the excitement in the air as visitors explored the exhibition. The event featured a remarkable collection of 1,570 artworks submitted from both domestic and international artists, showcasing a variety of mediums including traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, printmaking, lacquer painting, watercolor, mixed media, sculpture, and calligraphy. Following a rigorous selection process, five gold, ten silver, and twenty bronze awards were granted, alongside over 200 additional selected pieces.
Among the talented artists, Liu Xiaolong, a young artist and recipient of a gold award, expressed his gratitude for receiving recognition for his work “Wan Hu Man Zhu,” a piece inspired by his experience at the Tiepi Shihu Garden in Quanzhou. Liu emphasized the importance of artists engaging with their surroundings, stating, “I believe young and middle-aged artists should step out of the studio and create from life to keep their work vibrant.”
The exhibition will be held jointly at the Fujian Art Museum and the Sanming Art Museum, with the award-winning works displayed at the Fujian Art Museum until November 17th. Qiu Zhijun, the director of the Fujian Art Museum, highlighted the exhibition’s mission to bring high-quality art resources to the grassroots level and noted plans for a provincial tour. He remarked on the exhibit’s focus on expressing the lives of the people, often portraying scenes of labor, and encouraging a diverse artistic creation landscape.
