Huang Yongyu used 100 new works to "scare you", and the last work before his death was exhibited for the first time

The official website of Beijing Youth Daily

2024-06-25 18:25 Posted on the official account of Beijing Beiqing.com

These paintings of mine are something that none of my peers have ever seen, and I am serious about it.

- Huang Yongyu

This morning (June 25), "So Long, So Rich: Huang Yongyu's New Works Exhibition" was launched at the National Art Museum of China. The title of this exhibition is also "New Works Exhibition", Huang Yongyu was planning to organize his own 100-year-old painting exhibition before his death, and in order to present the audience with a different painting appearance from the past, he specially created a batch of new works. This exhibition will focus on nearly 160 new works of Huang Yongyu in his later years, comprehensively showing the audience Huang Yongyu's creative state and artistic pursuit after the age of 90, and the last painting he painted before his death, "Serenade", was also exhibited for the first time and placed in the last painting in this exhibition.

At the age of 90, he began to prepare for the "New Works Exhibition"

The last painting, Serenade

As an artist, Huang Yongyu has been involved in a wide range of art fields throughout his life, leaving wonderful works in Chinese painting, printmaking, oil painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design, industrial design, architectural design, etc. The theme of "so long, so rich" originated from Huang Yongyu's article "Scenery under the Sun: Shen Congwen and Me" written on December 31, 1979. After these eight words in the text, there are six more words "so colorful".

The exhibition focuses on his works of Chinese painting, the earliest of which was created in 2015 and the latest in 2023, shortly before his death. Although the time span of creation is not large, this batch of works has a large number of types, a variety of genres, and a wide range of themes, covering various themes such as costume characters, modern cities, flowers, animals, zodiac, wrestling, etc. "When he was 90 years old, he had this idea, and he was going to hold a new exhibition when he was 100 years old. Whether I live to be 100 years old or not, I will prepare, I will move on, and I will continue to draw until I can't draw anymore, regardless of other factors! The exhibition has been planned for nearly ten years. Huang Yongyu's daughter Huang Heini told reporters.

Huang Yongyu's last painting "Serenade"

Huang Yongyu kept his promise and drew the day before he went to the hospital. His last painting, Serenade, is also on display for the first time in this exhibition. Huang Heini explained the story behind the creation of this painting: "He painted three editions of this painting, and he likes the second edition of the painting that is now on display. When he painted this picture, he remembered the scene when he was young, a song he sang when he knew my mother, he knew it was a poem by Hugo, he didn't know who the composer was, and then his family helped him find this song from the Internet, it was a pop song from the thirties of the last century, and found the score, and finally drew the scene where he and his mother sang. At the end of his life, this "Serenade" accompanied Huang Yongyu to the end, "When he was in the hospital, he couldn't speak very well, so he inserted a tube for me to put it on him." Huang Heini said with some excitement.

Huang Yongyu's daughter Huang Heini

"Serenade" is the last work in this exhibition, Huang Yongyu's pen not only has paintings, but also music, as well as his love story with his wife, he is romantic.

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Huang Yongyu arranged it for you clearly

To appreciate Huang Yongyu's works, it is not only about looking at the content of the picture, but more importantly, about reading the inscriptions in the paintings. The works on display this time are even more so, ranging from a few crosses to hundreds of words, and there are works such as "What Does Song Yuanjun Want to Paint", with thousands of words in the inscription, which is equivalent to a wonderful short essay.

These words are also different from the lyricism of traditional inscriptions, but reveal Huang Yongyu's unique humorous style. He himself once said, "Literature is the first in my life, the second is sculpture, the third is woodcut, and the fourth is painting." He wrote his own essay into the picture and combined it with the content of the picture.

Wu Hongliang, president of the Beijing Fine Art Academy, said: "I am afraid that the new exhibition will solve three problems: first, it is to solve the problem of 'scaring you'. Exhibitions of this age are usually retrospectives, and Huang Lao wants to take nearly 200 new paintings that the audience has never seen before. As he himself said: 'I have lived almost a hundred years in my life, and luck is picked up by the roadside.' Fall on one's feet. Both honest and cunning people find it hard to believe. This exhibition is still 'turning evil into good', he wants to make life bloom again, and the theme is 'hard to believe'. The second is the question of proving how good your mind is. In the works included this time, there are still visual stunnings and brain teasers everywhere. The full of golden sentences shows Huang's humor, with a local flavor, stirring the tyranny and spirituality of Hunan people. Thirdly, it is a question of 'how steady the hand is'. I have held several exhibitions of artists from 90 to over 100 years old, and most of them are works that I call 'old immortals'. Huang Lao's last work is still steady, which I have never seen in an exhibition for more than 20 years. In an interview with reporters, Wu Hongliang said: "Mr. Huang Yongyu's exhibition does not need advertising, people who like him are here, there is no need to plan, Huang Lao has arranged it for you clearly, we just do it." ”

"Beauty is fleeting, and the mission of art is to preserve." Therefore, Huang Yongyu uses such a wide range of materials, such a steady brush, and such an interesting inscription, showing us the beauty that belongs to him. At the same time, it also gathers the audience into such a rich Huang Yongyu. It is reported that the exhibition will last until July 11.

Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Wang Lei

Photographer/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Wang Lei

Editor/Gong Lifang

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