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Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

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The valley rain is like silk, and the spring in the south of the Yangtze River is thick. In the most beautiful "April Day in the World", I was fortunate to meet Ms. Ma Xiaojuan in Huzhou, on the south bank of Taihu Lake, to listen to her story and feel her artistic experience and creative experience.

Ms. Xiaojuan is a native of Nanjing, studied in Hangzhou when she was young, and has been engaged in art education and art creation in Shanghai for a long time. He used to teach in the Fine Arts Department of Shanghai Normal University, and is now a painter at the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, a national first-class artist, a member of the Chinese Artists Association, and the director of the Chinese Painting Art Committee of the Shanghai Artists Association.

Nanjing, Hangzhou and Shanghai are located in the Yangtze River Delta region, all of which are the most important cities in the mainland, with a rich economy, a large number of celebrities, and profound cultural heritage. The fertile soil of art nourishes the growth of Teacher Xiaojuan, and these three cities are affectionate, fatal, and kind to her. She was born in Nanjing, influenced by her father and fell in love with painting since she was a child, and when she was a little older, she studied painting with Mr. Ya Ming, one of the representatives of the "New Jinling School", and also received guidance from the famous painters Song Wenzhi and Wei Zixi. Teacher Xiaojuan once fondly recalled that since she was a child, under the influence of these senior artists, she has been involved in the art of painting, and the old gentlemen's moral knowledge and perseverance in art have benefited her for life; Mr. Yaming is fond of the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River and has a strong Gusu feeling, which left a deep imprint on her and also influenced her later painting creation.

At the end of the 70s of the last century, the country resumed the college entrance examination, which was undoubtedly a turning point in life for many young people at that time. In 1978, Ms. Xiaojuan was admitted to the Chinese Painting Department of the China Academy of Art (formerly Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts) with excellent results, and began a formal and strict "class" study. In the 50s and 60s of the last century, with the famous painters of the China Academy of Art as the main body, the influential "New Zhejiang School" was formed in the field of figure painting. In 1985, she was admitted to the China Academy of Art again, and was fortunate to become one of the representatives of the "New Zhejiang School", Professor Gu Shengyue, a famous gongbi painter, who was a master's student in gongbi painting that year. The good learning atmosphere and the careful guidance of her tutor have made her painting skills continue to improve, and her works have gradually developed their own style. Not long ago, I met an old professor at the China Academy of Art, and he talked about his impression of Xiaojuan when she was at the Academy of Fine Arts: "She is a graduate student of Teacher Gu (Gu Shengyue), she is a bit of classical beauty, she is a good person, she is very diligent, and her works are innovative. The old gentleman's words clearly outline her image for us, and deepen our understanding of her character and the characteristics of artistic creation.

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

In 1979, while studying at Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, he sketched in Keqiao, Shaoxing

In 1988, after graduating from graduate school, Ms. Xiaojuan entered Shanghai Normal University to teach painting art. In 1988, her Chinese painting "White Dew" won the first prize of the first Chinese Painting Newcomer Exhibition; Subsequently, her works were selected for the 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th National Art Exhibitions, among which "Dream of Noon" and "National Color" won the Outstanding Works Award of the 8th and 10th National Art Exhibitions; "Early Spring" was selected for the first National Chinese Painting Exhibition, and "The Wind Passes Away" was selected for the National Chinese Painting Figure Painting Exhibition. She actively devotes herself to the cultural construction of Shanghai, and praises the new development and achievements of Shanghai with the brush in her hand. His works won the third prize of the 1999 "Style of the Times" - the art exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Shanghai; 2002 Shanghai Art Exhibition Second Prize; 2004 Shanghai Art Exhibition Magnolia Art Award Second Prize; Third Prize of Magnolia Art Award at the 5th Shanghai Art Exhibition. She has successively held Ma Xiaojuan's solo exhibitions, "Ma Xiaojuan's Works Exhibition" and "If the Water is Secluded-Ma Xiaojuan's Solo Exhibition" in Taipei, Shanghai, China, and has published a number of personal collections. Her works have frequently won awards in various exhibitions in China and Shanghai, and the successful holding of many solo exhibitions has made Xiaojuan stand out in the field of domestic figure painting, attracting attention in the art world and receiving rave reviews.

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Jiang Peng, Secretary of the General Party Branch and Vice President of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, and his party visited Ma Xiaojuan

Gu Shiyun: "Zhuan Yiduoshi is your teacher". Throughout Ms. Xiaojuan's decades of artistic experience, it can be described as rich and colorful. After graduating from the China Academy of Fine Arts, she joined the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Chinese Painting, and a few years later became a graduate student of the China Academy of Fine Arts, and then entered Shanghai Normal University to engage in art education, and then transferred to the Shanghai Academy of Chinese Painting for research and creation. She once said that she experienced many teachers, colleagues and friends with high artistic achievements in the schools and art academies in these places, and their academic attitudes, artistic opinions and artistic achievements always influenced her and opened up her own ideas for artistic creation, especially after she came to the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy. As one of the most open cities in mainland China, Shanghai has frequent cultural exchanges with foreign countries and the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, which will broaden the horizons of artistic creation, enrich the forms of creation, and strengthen the sense of innovation.

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Group photo with Mr. Cheng Shifa and Mr. Zhang Guiming

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Group photo with Mr. Chen Peiqiu

"Innovation" is the premise of the development of all things, and it is very important and precious to those who are engaged in artistic creation. Throughout Ms. Xiaojuan's art research and creation process over the past decades, she has always taken the road of "innovation", and her works are full of "new ideas". The basis of the "new" of "innovation in the past" is "ancient". She has a solid and profound traditional gongbi figure painting skills, on this basis, she constantly tries various techniques, with work and writing, still meaning and rhyme, whether it is composition, brush and ink, or character modeling, has a strong literati painting "simple", "elegant" and "ancient" characteristics. "Words are like people", and the same is true of words and paintings. Teacher Xiaojuan is intellectual, elegant, her paintings are "elegant and interesting", good at using simple and textured brush and ink lines to outline the shape of the figures, very sensitive to color, coloring is often elegant. Jiangnan is the place where she was born and grew up, with green waters and green mountains, and Wu Nong's soft words are deeply engraved in her heart. The women in her pen are gentle and graceful, with a smile and a smile, revealing the unique temperament of Jiangnan people; The characters' costumes are picturesque and contain the charm of Jiangnan; The scenery is mostly small bridges and flowing water, classical gardens, Soviet-style furniture, lotus, green bamboo, and Taihu stone, conveying the Jiangnan style.

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Sketching in Miao Village

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Sketching in Anhui

"Likeness" and "likeness" are a pair of categories of aesthetics. "Resemblance" highlights the "realistic" artistic image, while "god-like" conveys the inner spirit of the artistic image. "Don't seek to resemble the form, but seek the resemblance of the god" is the realm that many artists have been pursuing. Chen Hengke pointed out in "The Study of Chinese Literati Painting": "Literati painting does not seek to resemble form, which is the progress of painting. Qi Baishi said that painting "is expensive between the similar and the unlike." In her creation, Ms. Xiaojuan is not satisfied with the "likeness" of traditional figure painting, but "artistic refinement", expressing the ideal character in her mind through the change of brush and ink, image change, color change, and virtual and real change. Teacher Xiaojuan once said to herself: What I want to show is the beauty of naivety and innocence, not the traditional beauty. Her figure paintings are often exaggerated, full of romanticism and literati. The characters have low foreheads, high noses, and big eyes. It seems that the "likeness" of traditional figure painting is missing, and it is these deformed figures that are relaxed, playful, humorous, and a little more "god-like", bringing us endless space for reverie. Renyun: Teacher Xiaojuan's figure paintings are more cute, playful, smart, and elegant than Chen Laolian, and the more you taste, the more flavorful they are. The famous art critic Ding Xiyuan once commented on her paintings: "Xiaojuan's shape is very unique, the ladies in her pen have light hair and short forehead, long face, beautiful nose, eyebrows painted spring mountain, eyes like horizontal waves, more cherry mouth, face spring, plus a light smudge, more and more skin moist, looking forward to the ...... It is a modern boast, a kind of magnified beauty. ”

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

In 2018, he went to Mexico to sketch

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

In 2018, he went to Cuba to sketch

If Ms. Xiaojuan's works, with her beautiful and chic, witty and elegant style, established her status in the field of contemporary Chinese character painting, then the panoramic drawings created later with the theme of two classical literary works "Dream of the Red Mansion" and "Golden Bottle Plum" are "masterpieces" of her art to another peak. In 2005, she was invited by the celebration of the centennial of Fudan University to create and publish "Ma Xiaojuan's Painting of the Dream of the Red Chamber", and in 2007, she created "Ma Xiaojuan's Painting of the Golden Vase of Plum Blossoms".

"Dream of Red Mansions" is the first of the four classical Chinese classics, and it is a human romance novel with world influence, and the characters in it can be described as household names; "The Golden Vase of Plums" is a long vernacular fictional novel, listed as the first of the "Four Strange Books" of the Ming Dynasty. How to use the form of painting to show the storyline and character characteristics of the novel is the problem and challenge she faces. She once recalled: "When I was a child, I saw my mother watching "Dream of Red Mansions", and I had the idea of wanting to watch it, and the result was that I fell in love with "Dream of Red Mansions" when I saw it. Later, with the increase of life experience, reading "Dream of Red Mansions" again will give me more intimacy and understanding. This time, I specially wrote "Dream of Red Mansions" for the centennial Fudan celebration, and I gained more from rereading the novel. In particular, I have a new understanding of Jia Baoyu. Jia Baoyu is a son, but he respects women. He has a pitying and sympathetic attitude towards girls, and always consciously protects women, and is a real flower messenger, which is rare. When creating the painting "Plum in the Golden Vase", she focused on the characteristics of this fictional novel, focusing on the meaning of the original work and the character characteristics of the characters.

The description of characters in literary works mainly includes image description, language description, action description, psychological description, demeanor description, and detail description. This also seems to correspond to the creation of Chinese figure paintings. Teacher Xiaojuan is well versed in it, and before creating, she first familiarizes herself with the novel, fully understands the background of the era in which the novel was created, and figured out the psychology and demeanor of the characters in the novel. In the creation, there are trade-offs, highlighting the psychological description, demeanor description, and detail description of the characters, and pursuing a different artistic conception. The panoramic drawings she created with the themes of "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Plum in the Golden Vase" are not simple illustrations of novels, but artistic re-creation and re-sublimation on the basis of the original art of novels, so that people can understand the way of novels more deeply from paintings. The advent of Ma Xiaojuan's two paintings, "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Plum in the Golden Vase", not only marked a major breakthrough in Ma Xiaojuan's own painting creation, but also an important harvest in the creation of contemporary Chinese classical literature paintings.

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

A corner of the studio

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

In 2014, he created "Plateau Red" in the studio

On paper, I finally feel shallow, and I never know that I have to do it. Teacher Xiaojuan is a painter who is full of love for life and art. She loves to travel and collect style, and when she was in college, she went deep into Daliang Mountain and other places to sketch. She is constantly trying new ways of expression, exploring new painting subjects, and constantly challenging herself. Through sketching, seeking inspiration for artistic creation, such as going to the west to collect sketches, with pure ink into the painting, brushwork lines, soft and rigid, created a series of works on the theme of ethnic minority figures, unique and impressive. Works such as "Deep Qianling" and "Plateau Red", which have been well received in the "Shanghai Chinese Portrait Painting Exhibition" and the "Shanghai Fine Arts Masters Exhibition", are masterpieces created after she went deep into Guizhou, Sichuan, Gansu and Tibet.

Su Dongpo commented that Wang Wei is "there are paintings in poems, and there are poems in paintings", and the same is true for appreciating the works of teacher Xiaojuan today. Her works are elegant and interesting, like the freshness of "empty mountains after the new rain", and the tranquility of "clear spring stone upstream". Xiaojuan, also known as Xiaojuan, trickle, the water flows slowly, and then trickles, constantly converges, and eventually becomes a river and sea.

(Text/Yao Xinxing)

Work appreciation

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Flowering 2001 year

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

The wind died in 2004

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

National Colors 2004

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Song of the Ushun River 2005

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Happiness Mountain Song sprinkled all over the slope in 2006

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Deep Qianling, 2006

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Golden Vase Plum Hundred Pictures No. 4 2007

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Blue 2010

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Midday Dream 1994

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful
Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful
Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful
Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Dream of Red Mansions Begonia Poetry Society, 2013

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Plateau Red II 2014

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Sunshine Kashgar One 2017

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Between the Flowers 2017

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Gannan Impression No. 9 2017

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Dream of Red Mansions Jinling Twelve · Xiangyun Drunken Flowers 2017

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Dream of Red Mansions Jinling Twelve · Yuanchun Inscription Plaque 2017

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Jingwei Reclamation in 2017

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

The Enlightenment of Life Ma Xiaojuan, Liu Yaping 2018

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Sunshine is exactly 2020

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Dance of the Crested Ibis 2023

(Source: Shanghai Academy of Chinese Painting)

Artist Profile

Ma Xiaojuan Figure painting · | Childish and naïve, smart and playful

Ma Xiaojuan, born in 1955, is a native of Nanjing, Jiangsu, with the pen name Xiaojuan. He graduated from the Department of Chinese Painting at the China Academy of Art in 1982. In 1988, he received a master's degree in Gongbi figure painting from the China Academy of Art.

He is currently a painter at the Shanghai Academy of Chinese Painting, a national first-class artist, a member of the Chinese Artists Association, and the director of the Chinese Painting Art Committee of the Shanghai Artists Association.

His works were selected for the 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th National Art Exhibitions, and won the Outstanding Works Award of the 8th and 10th National Art Exhibitions. In 1999, he won the third prize of the Art Exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Shanghai. In 2002, he won the second prize of the Shanghai Art Exhibition. In 2004, he won the second prize of the Magnolia Art Award at the Shanghai Art Exhibition. He won the third prize of the Magnolia Art Award in the 5th Shanghai Art Exhibition.

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