Yu Chengyou is one of the popular modern Chinese printmakers and he is one of the few with exhibitions outside China. He could be called the traditionalist among thoday's printmakers in China.
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Traditional subjects of Chinese painting style like fans, tea bowls, musical instruments are among the artist's favorite subjects. He is especially strong in calligraphy, which can be frequently found in the background of Yu Chengyou's prints. For Western eyes his calligraphy looks like a nice decoration. For the artist and for Chinese eyes it is more than that. Behind each calligraphy is a classical Chinese poem.
The other passion of the artist are natural subjects - birds in different seasons, reeds in a marshland or an old tree. He was born in 1953 in Shandong Province, the homeland of Confucianism.
Yu Chengyou's prints are never overloaded - not his designs nor the use of colors. He is the master of expressing more by showing less - a classical Chinese artist.
The artist uses the traditional woodcut technique.
Limited editions from 30 to 150 copies + A.P. (artist proof) - signed, dated and numbered by the artist in pencil.
Dieter Wanczura
(July 2004, updated August 2009)
In the new millenium the favorite subjects of his woodblock prints have moved more towards landscapes and nature scenes.
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