Exhibition Name: "The Combination of North and South - Invitation Exhibition for Young Masters in Contemporary Chinese Painting" (Second Exhibition)

Exhibition period: October 13th to October 18th, 2015

Exhibition location: Hall A and Hall B of Shenzhen Guan Shanyue Art Museum

Organizers: Shenzhen Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Planning Committee of Guangdong Artists Association

 Unconsciously, in the golden autumn of Pengcheng, we welcome the second exhibition of "The Combination of North and South - Inviting Young Masters in Contemporary Chinese Painting". This means that as a permanent exhibition item of the Guangdong Artists Association Planning Committee, the "North South Integration" has taken a solid step towards stability.     

Since the Guangdong Artists Association proposed the work concept of "strengthening the construction of the talent pool, leveraging the professional advantages of the Art Committee, focusing on academic quality, improving academic quality, and laying a solid foundation for the sustainable and prosperous development of the art industry" in 2013, the newly elected Planning Art Committee of the Guangdong Artists Association has conscientiously fulfilled the association's work requirements in the new era, gathered ideas, explored and innovated, fully utilized comprehensive resources and social forces, actively organized various exhibition activities, and leveraged its own advantages to conduct vibrant explorations and innovations, hoping to make due contributions to the new round of development of the Provincial Artists Association's work.   

Therefore, this year the Planning Committee will continue to plan and hold the "North South Combination - Contemporary Chinese Painting Young Masters Invitation Exhibition". This exhibition invites renowned young and middle-aged painters active in the contemporary Chinese painting industry to participate in this activity nationwide, showcasing the current situation of contemporary young and middle-aged painters in the form of showcasing the charm of the North and South painting circles. Starting from the research and sorting of the current state of art, we hope to grasp the development pulse of contemporary art and explore new forms of planning and art committee work, so as to make our modest efforts to promote the development of contemporary cultural and artistic undertakings.    

The artists invited this time include Chen Xiangbo, Huang Zesen, Huai Yi, Yao Zhenxi, Liu Qinghua, Xie Hai, Lu Xiaogen, Mai Hongjun, Guo Chukai, Zhang Xiaoying, Chen Junyu, Guan Jian, and twelve other artists from both north and south regions. "North South" is not only a concept for the division of Chinese historical regions, but also a long-standing cultural phenomenon. The artists we invited this time are no longer only artists from Beijing and Guangdong, but also artists from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Tianjin, and other regions, thus enriching the connotation of "North South" in regional selection.    

In the era of the internet, it seems that the regional cultural divide is gradually fading. The reason why the "North South" regional divide is reintroduced as the academic theme of the exhibition is to once again remind us of our respect for traditional culture. Perhaps it is precisely because of the difference between the North and South in the history of painting that it has provided soil for the diversification of Chinese painting and the transformation of aesthetic ideas. It is also because of the opposition of artistic interests between the North and South that there has been cultural integration, aesthetic blending, and even the continuous migration and change of cultural focus. I think that in the contemporary context of globalization, it is recognizing and respecting cultural differences that will make the contemporary art world more speculative and vibrant, and will also make it truly prosperous.