Exhibition Name: "Road - Exhibition of Lu Jia's Works"

Exhibition location: Central Exhibition Hall/Hall C on the first floor of Guan Shanyue Art Museum

Exhibition period: June 10th to June 15th, 2020

Organizers: Shenzhen Guan Shanyue Art Museum and Shenzhen Academy of Painting

2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. Shenzhen's economy has made rapid progress, and its culture and arts are full of vitality. Over the past 40 years, the development of Shenzhen's art has kept pace with the times, Just like roc taking off from this sea called Beiming, flapping its wings and soaring.

Forty years have amazed countless people, and Lu Jia is one of them. Lu Jia was born in the 1960s into an art family in Xiguan, Guangzhou. His father was an active painter at the time, and he had been adhering to family education since childhood. This gave him an early opportunity to interact with the masters of the Lingnan School of Painting, and he grew up under the attention and education of his predecessors. When he was still young, Lu Jia received face-to-face teaching from senior teachers such as Guan Shanyue and Li Xiongcai. In 1994, he studied character painting under the guidance of Professor Lin Yong at Jinan University, and also studied comics with Mr. Liao Bing. Later, he learned sketching and oil painting under the guidance of teachers Shan Baiqin, Chen Yanning, and Wu Qizhong. He also studied comic books with Professor Lu Yanguang. Under the encouragement and guidance of Teacher Chen Yongqiang, the first personal art exhibition "Space" was held. In the early 1980s, young Lu Jia came from his hometown Guangzhou to the forefront of the reform and opening up in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, where he participated in cultural construction and worked as an art editor for newspapers. He then settled in Shenzhen for development. In 1987, Lu Jia was appointed by the municipal government to participate in the establishment of Shenzhen Painting Academy and became the youngest full-time painter in the national painting academy system at that time.   

Grow together with the times, keep walking with the tide of the times, and forge ahead. Having known Lu Jia for nearly forty years, this seemingly fierce "Black Knight" is actually calm and delicate, with a rich inner self and a keen sense of touch. He is also somewhat shy and cute. In earlier years, I watched him transition from an art editor at a newspaper to a full-time painter at an art academy. At some important art exhibitions, I often see his works and also see his growth along the way. As an artist cultivated by the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Lu Jia has been searching for his own ink and wash language for decades on the road of art. His painting style is also in a process of self transformation, from tradition to modernity, from realistic interpretation to abstract interpretation. In the past decade of creation, it seems that I have seen another Lu Jia. Looking at his new works, I will find that as a fan of "Harley Motorcycles", he has transformed his love and obsession with Harley heavy-duty motorcycles into heavy metal mechanical ink and wash, which also makes his ink and wash works soaked with heavy metal machinery. The musical form of strong mechanical rhythms and rhythmic rhythms narrates his impression of modern urban space and his nostalgia for the changes of the times, This also strengthens our ideals and beliefs.   

The theme of the exhibition is "Road". I think it was in 1979 when Comrade Deng Xiaoping said a widely circulated saying - "Kill a bloody path", which stirred up the spirit of the special zone of "daring to venture, daring to be the first" to this day; It is a 40 year journey of reform and trials, taking the lead and attempting to achieve "overall survival" through "one breakthrough"; It is a pioneering road opened up by pioneers in Shenzhen, a gradual demonstration, driven by "A horse charging ahead" to drive "ten thousand horses galloping"; Of course, it is also the artistic journey that Lu Jia, a special zone artist, has traveled in Shenzhen, tracing back to the past; It is he who cherishes what he currently possesses, internalizes it as a driving force for creation, remains steadfast in his footsteps at forty without confusion; He also looked towards the future and said, "The road ahead is long and arduous, and I will seek it up and down."

Lu Jia said that he hopes to offer a tribute to the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in the form of art, paying tribute to the glorious years. More than a hundred works will comprehensively showcase his decades of creative appearance in Shenzhen, and it is also his first time holding a comprehensive solo exhibition at the official art museum in Shenzhen. The Guan Shanyue Art Museum not only showcases more than 70 of his ink and wash works created in the past two decades, but also reviews his creations in the 1980s and 1990s. The works cover oil paintings, illustrations, designs, comics, etc., with both literary and artistic value, allowing the audience to understand the art ecology of the early stage of reform and opening up, as well as enter Lu Jia's inner world and his artistic space.   

 
 "Further promote the open, diverse, and inclusive urban culture, as well as the spirit of daring to explore, take the lead, and work hard in the special zone, and vigorously promote the humanistic spirit of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area." This is particularly emphasized in the "Opinions on Supporting Shenzhen's Construction of a Socialism Pilot Demonstration Zone with Chinese Characteristics" issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. As a painter who grew up together with the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Lu Jia witnesses the development of the times, and the times also illuminate the journey of a Shenzhen Special Economic Zone painter pursuing his dreams. It inspires the audience and encourages Shenzhen Special Economic Zone artists to create more excellent works. This is a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, and it is also our cultural expectation for the future! 
                                                                                       

Member of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department

Li Xiaogan

May 19, 2020