The 2nd Contemporary Sculpture · Oil Painting Youth Promotion Exhibition debuted, building a display platform for young artists Oil painting | Sculpture | Youth

The 2nd Contemporary Sculpture · Oil Painting Youth Promotion Exhibition recently opened at the Shanghai Oil Painting Sculpture Academy Art Museum, showcasing over 70 oil painting and sculpture works by 24 young artists. After the exhibition in Shanghai, it will tour to the Art Museum of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in September.

Exhibition Hall Scene Map

The biennial "Contemporary Sculpture and Oil Painting Youth Promotion Exhibition" aims to showcase the academic achievements of young artists through exhibitions, seminars, publications, and other forms. It aims to build a display platform for young artists, promote excellent works and outstanding young artistic talents, and promote talent cultivation and echelon construction in the Chinese art industry. "Young artists are the group that needs the most encouragement and support, especially in the early stages of their artistic careers. We hope that through the organization of the Youth Promotion Exhibition, talented young artists can be more recognized by the professional community and society. This is also an important measure for us to cultivate young artists' talents and build a team. In the future, we will continue to follow up on the growth and development of young artists." Jiang Mei, the academic host of the exhibition and the director of Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Institute, introduced.

This exhibition released a solicitation notice on April 27, 2023. As of May 28, a total of 310 eligible young artists have received their application materials. After evaluation by the expert review committee, 12 young artists were selected to exhibit their works in the fields of sculpture and oil painting. Among them, artists selected for the sculpture category include Jiang Tonghao, Jing Keya, Liu Jun, Liu Yuhang, Meng Hudie, Ren Simong, Wang Chaoyong, Yang Yang, Yin Daibo, Yin Zhixin, Ying Ying, and Yu Yang; Oil paintings include Bu Xuan, Duan Xiaogang, Feng Xinrui, Geng Defa, Jin Peng, Liang Jianjun, Mao Rui, Tang Yuzhu, Tian Shuai, Wei Zhicheng, Xu Ranshu, and Zhang Zhaoying.

"In creative practice, young artists' thinking is very active and their perspectives are also very broad. In Jiang Mei's view, from the works of selected artists, we can see not only the use of traditional materials and carving techniques, but also the innovation and breakthroughs of the younger generation in artistic expression." Based on the premise of sculpture and oil painting, these young artists' works reflect different degrees of new expansion dimensions in terms of observation perspective, media experiments, content expression, and conceptual expression. "

For example, young artist Wang Chaoyong's "Speed · Writing" is a set of woodcarving works. Starting from the leopard on the far right, each image is associated with the previous image, making the entire set of works inherently narrative. What's even more interesting is that as the picture unfolds, the three-dimensional sculpture is finally fixed on the wall, like a painting. Meng Hudie's "The Endless Cycle" implies fragmentation and reconstruction. She reassembles old and worn-out furniture, such as tables and chairs, with blue and white porcelain, iron sheets, crystal stones, bones, wood, etc., giving the original furniture a different aesthetic taste. "The work originates from the research and practice of curium and restoration techniques. In the process of 'finding faults and seams' in fragments, various fragmented materials awaken from silence, and are mutually stimulated and accumulated into a body. The fragments are shaped by each other, forming a self-sufficient form of material." Meng Hudie said.

Stepping into the second floor of the exhibition hall, you can also see a group of realistic ceramic sculptures that can be almost indistinguishable from reality. Luggage, TV, woven bag, toolbox, lime bucket... Upon closer inspection, it turns out to be all ceramic works. Artist Yang Yang named this group of works "The Container of People's Dreams". "In the forty years since the reform and opening up, people's travel bags have been constantly changing, carrying people's dreams. Its form transformation is also an inevitable change under the influence of the reform and opening up."

Zeng Chenggang, Director of the Art Committee of this exhibition, President of the China Sculpture Society, and Dean of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, said, "Youth is a time of passion burning in life. Everyone is experiencing a transformation from immaturity to maturity, from sharpness to stability and introversion. We hope to amplify the energy of young people and make our works visible to more people."

Sun Zhenhua, the academic host and vice president of the China Sculpture Society, believes that the new changes in contemporary Chinese sculpture seen from young sculptors and sculpture works have been fully reflected in the exhibition. "It is in this sense that we are willing to spare no effort in promoting youth, because youth are like an endless book, writing about the present and future of Chinese sculpture."

"Although exhibitions are based on oil painting and sculpture, they are not limited in terms of thinking and concepts. In the current development of artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT, young artists also need to think about how to respond to such a realistic and visible future, how to use new technologies and external knowledge to empower their creations." Jiang Mei said.

On the afternoon of the opening day, the "Academic Reception Hall" of the Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Academy Art Museum held academic seminar and exchange activities with the themes of "Contemporary Youth Sculpture for the Future" and "Contemporary Youth Oil Painting for the Future". At the same time, on July 15th and 22nd, a "Academic Reception Hall" public education event will also be held, allowing art education to benefit not only professional audiences and art enthusiasts, but also surrounding community residents and white-collar workers.

The exhibition is jointly organized by the China Sculpture Society, Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Institute, Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, and Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, and will continue until August 5th.