Interview with Painter Wang Jiafang: Describing Shanghai's Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple with the Pen and Ink of the Times | Landscape | Era

Painter Wang Jiafang has created many "great paintings" for Shanghai in recent years, including "Shanghai", "Pudong", and "Original Heart". In his masterpiece spanning several meters, he used the brushstrokes of Chinese painting to outline the urban charm and contemporary spirit of Shanghai.

Not long ago, he just completed 50 small paintings "Shanghai - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple", telling the story of Shanghai with unique vision and delicate brushstrokes.

Whether it's big or small paintings, Wang Jiafang blends traditional landscape spirit with urban spirit, never forgetting to integrate his personal artistic language into the tide of the times.

Sitting still in front of a huge white paper

Recently, CCTV aired a documentary about you called "The Great Painter of Shanghai School", which tells the story of your journey in creating huge paintings for Shanghai in recent years. How did you manage to achieve these grand themed works, where almost every one exudes a sense of novelty?

Wang Jiafang: The "greatness" of a great painting lies not only in its size, but also in showcasing the grand atmosphere and overall layout in the painting. A big painting must have content, a story, and the ability to convey ideas.

In recent years, I have painted nearly 10 large paintings one after another. Every time I face a new proposition, I try to reset my mindset to zero and remind myself not to fall into empiricism, otherwise I may fall into the trap of creation. Only by abandoning empiricism can there be a breakthrough.

In 2018, to welcome the first China International Import Expo, you were invited to create a background painting for the conference living room of Shanghai Xijiao Hotel. This is an unprecedented challenge for you, right?

Wang Jiafang: After receiving this important commission, I pondered for a long time. How can I make the audience feel the urban charm and spirit of Shanghai through this painting? I think of Shikumen, which is like a living museum. I was born and raised in Shikumen, and have almost traveled all over Shanghai's Shikumen, painting dozens of sketches from life.

Inspiration came in this way. From near to far, the pictures are Shikumen under the golden wutong tree, the open Huangpu River, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai center and other landmark buildings in Lujiazui. In my imagination, guests sitting in front of this painting are like sitting at the entrance of the Shikumen Lane in Shanghai, feeling the warmth of the city.

After completing the sample, I started the formal creation of this artwork. At that time, what was in front of me was a huge piece of rice paper seamlessly spliced together from 16 pieces of 8-foot rice paper.

Looking up: Faced with the vast blank space in front of you, where did you start writing?

Wang Jiafang: I sat quietly in front of a huge piece of white paper for two days, and unconsciously began to converse with the blank space in front of me, as well as with my own soul. Only when I silently painted all the scenery in my heart did I truly start writing. On the first stroke, I found the right feeling. When I have confidence, holding a small brush and facing a large rice paper, my heart no longer feels timid. Next, I painted continuously for 45 days, almost in one go.

Wang Jiafang's "Shanghai"

Looking up: In 2019, you were invited to create a painting for the 30th anniversary of Pudong's development and opening up. What are the difficulties in this 9-meter-wide and 4.5-meter-high "Pudong"?

Wang Jiafang: The difficulty of this work lies in how to use Chinese painting techniques to depict high-rise buildings, which cannot be borrowed from traditional works. The final presentation needs to have both the texture of contemporary materials and the traditional style of China. I think of using the unique blank spaces in Chinese painting to depict the materials of modern architecture, while drawing on the techniques of classical architecture from Western painting systems, to convey a warm and readable charm to the buildings. I have painted over 50 tall buildings in total, and there is no specific tree between them. However, a jungle resembling clouds and trees runs through the entire picture, trying to convey an infinite sense of extension.

Shangguan: In 2021, you created the "Original Mind" 8.5 meters wide and 2.5 meters high for the site of the first National Congress of the CPC. How did you break through yourself in this masterpiece?

Wang Jiafang: I learned from Western painting concepts such as the central axis and the golden section, and drew a ray of dawn in the center of the picture, running through the front, middle and far three regions. This ray of dawn witnessed that the CPC has gone through vicissitudes of life, but its original intention has not changed, and its true color has remained the same despite the weather.

Wang Jiafang's creative process

Small to large, large to medium to detailed

Shangguan: I heard that you have been creating a series of small paintings depicting Shanghai recently?

Wang Jiafang: Yes, there are a total of 50 works in this group, which have been completed so far. I will name it "Shanghai - Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple". I tell a story of Shanghai in each small painting, which not only allows me to feel the fireworks of the alleyway, but also gives me a sense of the future of the racing track and esports arena, striving to showcase a collision between new and old. In terms of artistic expression techniques, I try to create more interesting spiritual spaces with more free and dynamic ink and wash. One of the paintings depicts an elevated bridge in Shanghai, and I used a more imaginative technique to bring an imagination to the audience.

What are the key differences in determining the success or failure of small and large paintings?

Wang Jiafang: The most taboo in painting is "big but empty". Whether the audience can see it and calm down to savor it carefully is an important factor that determines the success or failure of a large painting. "Shanghai", "Pudong", "Original Heart", "Tide in the East" and other works give the impression of grandeur, but upon closer inspection, they do not lose their warmth. My pursuit is to move people's hearts in subtle details and make the audience feel that this painting has a chewy texture.

And for small paintings, we should see the big picture in the middle. If my major New Year paintings all showcase the layout and urban spirit of Shanghai from a macro perspective, then these 50 paintings depict Shanghai from various perspectives, and when combined, they do not lose a grand aura.

One of Wang Jiafang's latest creations in the "Shanghai - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple" series

Upper view: In your early years, you studied under Professor Gu Yi, a disciple of Zhang Daqian, and Professor Su Chunsheng, a disciple of Lu Yanshao. For many years, you have been devoted to studying traditional landscape painting. How did you come up with the idea of using landscape painting to depict modern cities?

Wang Jiafang: Shanghai doesn't have high mountains, but when viewed in the darkness, towering buildings look like mountains. As a Shanghainese, I watched the city grow higher and higher with the rise of high-rise buildings. The skyscrapers in Lujiazui and the Shikumen under the wutong trees are all urban landscapes that change with the times. As an artist, showcasing the urban spirit through the creative concept of landscape painting is a reflection of "the brush and ink should follow the times". When creating, I am the landscape, the landscape is me, and I am integrated with the landscape and the city.

How to cleverly combine the spirit of mountains and rivers with the spirit of the city in painting?

Wang Jiafang: Urban landscapes actually have a long history in China. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, many literati gathered from various places in culturally prosperous and commercially developed cities such as Suzhou. They longed for nature in the city and used landscape paintings to depict their hidden state of mind in the city.

Looking back at the history of painting, almost every era has literati using their depictions of mountains and rivers to express their spiritual sustenance, and each era's landscape painting has a unique imprint or life code that belongs to that era.

Mountains and rivers remain unchanged throughout history, changing people's thoughts and times. Artists should keep pace with the times and integrate their own mental images into the depiction of the times. After experiencing the ups and downs of time, future generations may be able to understand the living conditions and urban spirit of this era through our works.

Whether it's painting big or small, the artist's values and aesthetic orientation are very important. Only by integrating personal artistic language into the tide of the times can we create works that express the times.

One of Wang Jiafang's "Shanghai - Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple" series

Don't always think about your work being timeless

Up view: Whether it's a large or small painting, your work gives people a very clean feeling.

Wang Jiafang: The mind is clean, let go of distractions, and the picture will be clean.

What distractions should be discarded when creating?

Wang Jiafang: First of all, don't rush to create a masterpiece. No one can paint a masterpiece today and another tomorrow. What has been tested by the times is the best quality.

Don't always think that your work will be remembered for centuries or that each stroke represents thousands of years of tradition when writing. Only by letting go of all the burdens in our hearts, facing ourselves sincerely, and facing the thick soil beneath our feet, can we create truly exquisite works that can withstand the test of time.

Thought determines ink, not ink determines thought. Pen and ink require a lifetime of cultivation, but what is more important is to cultivate one's own realm.

Upper view: You once said that you often ask yourself three questions.

Wang Jiafang: Firstly, what is the purpose of engaging in artistic work? Secondly, what is to be expressed through my works? Thirdly, what is the social function of the works. I believe that this is not just a question that I need to contemplate alone.

I engage in art to promote the future. Therefore, I integrate my soul into the era I am in, rather than drifting away from it. A work of art may not change a person's thoughts, let alone an era, but art can express beauty, bring spiritual pleasure and comfort, which is the most basic social function of a work of art. Of course, art can also give people philosophical thinking, but it should not give people perverse or even ugly visual stimulation.

Artists cannot avoid the issue of the market value of artistic works. Market value represents only the direction of society's aesthetic appreciation of artworks, and cannot be used to measure the entirety of art. Some painters stand out and even fall into some formalism in pursuit of market value. I believe that art should have form, but it should not become formalism. Formalism can harm art.

One of Wang Jiafang's "Shanghai - Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple" series

Looking up: What other creative plans do you have next?

Wang Jiafang: I want to have a conversation with an ancient person, who is Xu Xiake. Xu Xiake spent his entire life traveling famous mountains and rivers, measuring China with his footsteps, and leaving behind the influential travelogue of Xu Xiake for future generations. I once spent 10 years following Xu Xiake's footsteps, recording the mountains and rivers along the way, and reflecting on the spirit of the times in the mountains and rivers. I painted a total of 100 works, but I think it's not enough. I also want to delve deeper into Xu Xiake and create a series of works such as "Xu Xiake in Yunnan" and "Xu Xiake in Shaanxi".

In August this year, I will hold an exhibition called "Painting Xu Xiake" in Tokyo, Japan, to spread our Chinese culture and spirit overseas.