Shi Yanqing - born 1979

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Mr. Shi Yanqing
copyright Shi Yanqing

Mr. Shi Yanqing was born in 1979 in Yu town of Shanxi province. In 2000, he graduated from the Fine Art Department of Pingding Normal School. In 2002 he was admitted to the CNAFA (Chinese National Academy of Fine Arts) in Hangzhou. He is a student of famous master artist Zhang Minjie. Shi Yanqing successfully exhibited at provinvial and national Chinese art shows and won several prizes.

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First Encounter with Mr. Shi Yanqing

The following text was sent to us by our Chinese art agent. She speaks about her first encounter with the artist at the occasion of the International Guanlan Print Biennial which took place in Shenzen from May 16 until July 17, 2007.

"The first time I saw Mr. Shi Yanqing's prints was at the International Print Exhibition in Guanlan, Shenzhen city of China. His Villagers series is very interesting. The simple and honest man with a pure-hearted smile touched many visitors of the exhibition. And I thought he was a famous printmaker that I had not yet found somewhere else.

The fact is, he is very young, and he lives in the same city as I do, in Hangzhou. Shi Yanqing is a student of Zhang Minjie, and works now in the Printmaking studio of CNAFA (Chinese National Academy of Fine Arts). He said: "I love drawing, and I do cherish this chance of working here. I have devoted my whole life to creating prints."

Born in Shanxi Province

Chinese Prints - Article
Little Girl, 2006
copyright Shi Yanqing

Mr.Shi Yanqing was born in 1979 in Yu town of Shanxi province. In 2000, he gratuated from the Fine Art department of Pingding Normal School. After his graduation he taught arts at Yulinping school. But he thought that he must continue his studies of Fine Art, and was admitted to the CNAFA in 2002.

Thus he began his printmaking studies with Mr. Zhang Minjie (Chinese famous printmaker) in Hangzhou.

Exhibitions

• 1997 - The art work "Root" attended the 8th Fine Art Exhibition of Shanxi province, and won the copper prize.
• 1999 - The art work "Mother" attended the 9th Fine Art Exhibition of Shanxi province and won the outstanding prize.
• 1999 - The art work "Landscape of Xibaipo" won the outstanding prize in the "Art Exhibition for the Memorization of the 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of the People's Republic of China". This art work was collected by the Art Museum of Yangquan city.
• 2006 - The art print "Father and Daughter" attended the "National Outstanding Graduates Fine Art Exhibition" in 2006 in Beijing. The art work won the outstanding prize and was published in the official exhibition catalog, ISBN: 7-5410-3060-0/J·2176
• 2006 - The art work "Old Man" was selected for the portefolio "Translation" organized by Boston printmakers of the United States.
• 2007 - The print "No Title" from the "Villagers" series attended the International Print Exhibition in Guanlan, Shenzhen city, and was published in the official catelog of the exhibition, ISBN: 978-7-5059-5576-9.
• 2007 - "Villagers Series, No.5" attended the Exhibition for the Memorization of the 80th Anniversary of the PLA (Chinese People's Liberation Army).

Shi Yanqing about the "Villagers" Series

Chinese Prints - Info
Childhood Game, 2006
copyright Shi Yanqing

And this is what the artist himself has to say about his "Villagers" series.

"I was born in a small village in Shanxi province. There are no streets, only narrow meandering footpaths. There are no phones. You can communicate only by letters from outside. It seems that my village was fenced out from the modern cities. Each of my villagers only has a small piece of land. They work hard, they are honest and warm-hearted."

"What I drew are my familiar villagers, their smiles and their hopes: they all do the same action, they cover their eye with one hand. Look at this world that we used to see with two eyes, maybe we will find a different new world."

Zhang Minjie about Shi Yanqing

Shi Yanqing - My Villagers
My Villagers No.2, 2005
copyright Shi Yanqing

China Prints - Article
My Villagers No. 5, 2005
copyright Shi Yanqing

The following statement was written by famous artist Zhang Minjie. He is a legend at lifetime. His prints and art works are among the most expensive ones in the contemporary Chinese art market. Today (2007) he teaches at the renowned CNAFA (Chinese National Academy of Fine Arts) in Hangzhou. The following text was edited by artelino for reasons of better understanding of the translation from an original Chinese text.

"Mr. Shi Yanqing's Villagers series is about portraits. But what he wants to show us, are the feelings and impressions about the living situation of his villagers. One can see different smiles from different persons. But what they have in common is how they look at the world with the same eyes. The distance between the mode and their figure, it is a normal section from life, so it looks very vivid."

"Although the 7 persons have their own expressions with different clothing and with different backgrounds, the same actions say something about what is behind these portraits. It is a reflection on the current culture. It is really precious how the artist can express these exploring art languages by the subject of portrait prints."

By Professor Zhang Minjie, May, 2006

Translated, composed and edited by Dieter Wanczura
(November 2007, updated May 2009)

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