Foreword
The 1930s was an extraordinary period during which many schools of thought and many outstanding scholars and talents emerged. It was during this period that the first climax of Chinese watercolor paintings came into being.
Watercolor painting, originating in Europe in the fifteenth century, grew to be an independent branch of painting in the eighteenth century England. It is still a popular art form in the West today. Most of the Chinese artists who studied in Europe and Japan in the 1930s, in addition to oil painting, were proficient in watercolor. Fengmian Lin, Xunqin Pang and Jintang Liu were among the renowned masters. Most of the painters in that period were not only skillful artists, but also scholars with broad vision, engaging in high pursuits. Even today, their works are inspiring models.
The 1950s witnessed the second climax of watercolor painting in China, centering in Shanghai. Mingti Fan, Ximing Li, Roujian Sheng, Chongren Zhang, Jianchen Li and many others were all famous for their watercolor painting.
The third climax of watercolor painting happened in the 1980s. During this period, with numerous watercolor painters and frequent watercolor painting exhibitions, a national watercolor painters association was founded. It is not an exaggeration to say that during this period, watercolor painting reached an unprecedented popularity and success.
Zhinan Jiang entered the field of watercolor painting in the 1990s. In 1991, his painting “Sea” was displayed at the Watercolor Paintings Exhibition of Beijing for the first time and received favorable criticism. In 1992 he was invited to show his “Kangling Stone Tablet” in Taiwan at the First Exhibition of Works by Renowned Mainland Watercolor Painters. His works were frequently exhibited in the following years and he gradually established his academic status in the field of Chinese watercolor painting.
Majoring in dyeing art, Zhinan Jiang graduated from the Central Academy of Arts and Design. Before the application of computers, dyeing design was done solely by hand, usinggouache or watercolor. This training provides Jiang a good foundation for later mastery of watercolor.
In my opinion, Jiang’s watercolors can be divided into three stages. His works in the first stage are mainly sketches from daily life. He painted rice fields, flowers, village scenes, his wife and her cat. These subjects might seem to be the result of random selection, however they are all the persons and things close to his heart. This stage has two characteristics: one is his respect for light; by using warm colors, he creates a sense of intimacy in life; the second characteristic is his careful brushwork, in which he uses the natural veins of objects as the medium to establish the visual order of his paintings. These concrete images transmit a certain sense of abstractness. It is this abstract quality that seems to be the real backbone of the structural logic of his pictures.
In the second stage, Jiang painted the Bicycle Series. Like all his work, these paintings are characterized by leaping and shining light. Objects and their shadows reflect upon each other;it is hard to differentiate which is the main part of a picture. In fact, the bicycles are nothing but a medium, for the order of pictures is obviously abstract. It was a breakthrough for Jiang: to go from imitating the concrete objects to expressing the logical order of his inner mind. His strokes became more fluid, lively but still forceful, more compatible with the nature of watercolor.
In the third stage, he painted what he saw in Europe during the time he was studying in Paris. Although he reproduced the actual scenes before him, in order to keep the memory vivid, his choice of subject shows more reason and rationality in the structure of pictures and in color tones than his earlier works. More importantly, the spiritual aspect of the scenes became the first thing he expected to describe and reproduce. They are obviously different from the works in the first stage. He has achieved even better mastery of technique, the coordination of hands and mind, and the integration of scenes and feelings. Hands reflect mind; scenes integrate feeling. He has matured as a watercolor painter.
Light is very significant in Jiang’s watercolors. It is not only a medium, but also a goal for Jiang. I respect his sensitivity to light and am startled by the fact that he deals with light so vividly and spiritually. Light is not only a necessity of life but also a belief. I have no doubt that Zhinan Jiang also thinks this way.
Jiang regards watercolor painting as his life-long career. It is not easy since it seems that traditional Chinese painting and oil painting are considered to be the mainstream of art in China today. It requires courage and confidence to find a place beyond the mainstream. I believe he will succeed.
Dakai Du
Beijing, 1998