In 1972, Chen Guoxun, then the director of Longmen County Cultural Museum, together with art cadres Wu Bingdi and Tan Chifa, established the first training class for peasant paintings, guiding local peasant painters in artistic creation, marking the birth of Longmen peasant paintings in Guangdong. Now, a wonderful Longmen farmer painting is meeting the citizens of Pengcheng at zero distance.

The "Joyful Longmen - New Exhibition of Longmen Farmers' Paintings" jointly organized by Shenzhen Guanshanyue Art Museum and Longmen County Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau is currently on display on the third floor of Guanshanyue Art Museum, attracting a large number of citizens to come and check in. Recently, a reporter from Shenzhen Special Zone Daily conducted an exclusive interview with Chen Junyu, the director of Guan Shanyue Art Museum. Chen Junyu shared his views and insights on the value of Longmen peasant paintings, the original intention of holding this exhibition, and how to view the new development of peasant paintings in the era.

Longmen County in Guangdong Province has Guangfu culture, Hakka culture, and unique Yao culture, and is known as the "Pearl River Delta Ecological Garden" and "Oasis on the Tropic of Cancer". Longmen is rich in cultural resources. Hakka folk songs, Cantonese opera, Loong Boat racing, fire dog dancing and other traditional folk cultures are passed down from generation to generation. Each township has formed its own unique folk art traditions, such as wall paintings in Yonghan Town and flower beds in Shajing Town; There are several ancestral halls of clans dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties preserved throughout the county, which have rich cultural characteristics of Guangfu. They have gathered a large number of folk art techniques such as murals, plaster sculptures, flower windows, and brick carvings; In daily life in the countryside, during festivals and holidays, it is customary to paste dragon heads, lion heads, and tie lanterns. Many farmers are skilled painters.

Regarding the original intention of the exhibition, Director Chen Junyu stated that Shenzhen Guanshanyue Art Museum has always focused on the origins of Lingnan culture and art. In this regard, Guanshanyue Art Museum naturally has the advantage of exploration. He introduced that Longmen peasant painting, as a type of art, originated from the folk and has the true genes of Lingnan culture. Folk art is rooted in our local cultural characteristics and has important value in this era. The inspiration that folk art brings to art actually comes from our local culture, which contains the cultural heritage of our southern Guangdong land. This is also the cultural confidence we have always emphasized, so we should give sufficient attention and research.

A good exhibition cannot do without the 'kung fu' behind it. During the curation process, the curatorial team of Guan Shanyue Art Museum also did a lot of behind the scenes work. Chen Junyu introduced that because Longmen Farmer Painting is already a brand, Longmen County attaches great importance to it and has been actively communicating with Guan Guan. In the process of communication, we also discovered the difficulties faced by Longmen Farmers' Painting. In order for farmers' painting to develop, it has both advantages and disadvantages. To polish its best side, we need to overcome many difficulties

This exhibition is the second collaboration between Shenzhen Guanshanyue Art Museum and Longmen Farmers' Painting. As early as 2010, Guan Shanyue Art Museum had collected a batch of exquisite paintings by Longmen farmers and held the "Rural Love Lingnan - Longmen Farmers' Painting Exhibition", forming a deep friendship with Longmen farmers' painters.

In Chen Junyu's view, after 14 years, with the development of the times, the proposal of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, and changes in the living environment, the creation of the new generation of Longmen farmer painters has also undergone changes. Their painting themes, composition methods, modeling characteristics, and color schemes are different from those of previous generations of painters, and even often combined with modern technology in artistic media. The changes in Longmen peasant paintings are mainly reflected in the replacement of new and old artists. The knowledge structure and visual style of young artists are different from those of the older generation of painters. We were surprised to find that while young artists maintain the characteristics and expressive features of peasant paintings, they also increase their expression of new life, a desire for the new era, and a foundation for their skills in the development of this era.

From the visual presentation to the proficient control of colors, Longmen Farmer Painting has its own unique artistic expression. When it comes to the value of Longmen peasant paintings to Shenzhen, Chen Junyu believes that from the perspective of our city, Shenzhen is an immigrant city and a young city. After more than 40 years, Shenzhen's culture has gradually settled. As Shenzhen residents, we also need to know the cultural depth that has emerged or accumulated on the land beneath our feet. The paintings of Longmen farmers happen to give us an answer.