On Poland from the perspective of east and west - written before the exhibition
On September 7, 2918, the opening ceremony “Exchange Exhibition of Polish Printmaking” was held at the 3A Gallery in CAFAM. The exhibition is organized by CAFA, co-organized with International Printmaking Alliance, China Artists Association Art Council, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk.
Poland is a country of printmaking. Both governments and universities attach great importance to printmaking. The International Print Biennial in Poland has a worldwide reputation. Located in East Europe, the intermediate zone between the west and the east, Poland must have characteristic culture and people. China is fairly familiar with European and American art, so familiar that we can say Chinese art is highly influenced by those art. But as we have developed to an extend, we begin to wish for a new, non-mainstream path. The relatively marginalized, enclosed regions haven’t yet been overwhelmed by “contemporary art”. They might still keep some old and precious things, and these might be the treasure we need to create new art. With this idea, I led my team to Poland for an exchange exhibition, first at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, then the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. The Polish art is more modern than I thought, and more comprehensive than what we usually understand of the European and American art. There’s a link between the traditional and contemporary art, a connection between life and art. This is different from China. There’s big gap between China’s urban and rural area, between high-end professionals and ordinary people, and between art and people’s life (except for in the big cities). China is developing rapidly, and already got into the frontline of certain research areas in science and art, but in order to develop sustainably, we need to search for new resources continuously, digging into history while extending to the international world. This time, we introduce the printmaking exhibitions from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk out of the aforementioned motivation. I believe the exhibition will bring a completely new feeling to Chinese audience, inspiration to printmaking artists in CAFA even China, and increase the affection of Polish and Chinese people towards each other.
Wang Huaxiang, Deputy Dean of the School of Plastic Arts, Director of the Department of Printmaking
Written in Wanshenggu Art Museum on Jun 18, 2019
On Poland from the perspective of east and west - written before the exhibition
On September 7, 2918, the opening ceremony “Exchange Exhibition of Polish Printmaking” was held at the 3A Gallery in CAFAM. The exhibition is organized by CAFA, co-organized with International Printmaking Alliance, China Artists Association Art Council, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk.
Poland is a country of printmaking. Both governments and universities attach great importance to printmaking. The International Print Biennial in Poland has a worldwide reputation. Located in East Europe, the intermediate zone between the west and the east, Poland must have characteristic culture and people. China is fairly familiar with European and American art, so familiar that we can say Chinese art is highly influenced by those art. But as we have developed to an extend, we begin to wish for a new, non-mainstream path. The relatively marginalized, enclosed regions haven’t yet been overwhelmed by “contemporary art”. They might still keep some old and precious things, and these might be the treasure we need to create new art. With this idea, I led my team to Poland for an exchange exhibition, first at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, then the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. The Polish art is more modern than I thought, and more comprehensive than what we usually understand of the European and American art. There’s a link between the traditional and contemporary art, a connection between life and art. This is different from China. There’s big gap between China’s urban and rural area, between high-end professionals and ordinary people, and between art and people’s life (except for in the big cities). China is developing rapidly, and already got into the frontline of certain research areas in science and art, but in order to develop sustainably, we need to search for new resources continuously, digging into history while extending to the international world. This time, we introduce the printmaking exhibitions from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk out of the aforementioned motivation. I believe the exhibition will bring a completely new feeling to Chinese audience, inspiration to printmaking artists in CAFA even China, and increase the affection of Polish and Chinese people towards each other.
Wang Huaxiang, Deputy Dean of the School of Plastic Arts, Director of the Department of Printmaking
Written in Wanshenggu Art Museum on Jun 18, 2019
