Exhibition Title: "Promotion Project for Outstanding Young Artists in Shenzhen (Phase IV)"

Exhibition Dates: December 7th - 11th, 2016

Exhibition Venue: Hall A & B, 1st Floor, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen

This year marks the beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan and the initial stage of fully implementing the "Shenzhen Cultural Innovation and Development 2020 (Implementation Plan)" within the city's propaganda and cultural system. Under the correct leadership of the Municipal Propaganda Department and the specific guidance of the Party Leadership Group of the Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the 7th Presidium of the Shenzhen Artists Association has formulated the "Leveraging Artistic Projects to Forge Shenzhen's Renowned Fine Arts Brands – Shenzhen Artists Association's Five-Year Development Plan" as a guiding principle for the association's work over the next five years. This plan focuses on several aspects of the "Shenzhen Fine Arts Project," including creation, research, exchange, talent cultivation, and incentive mechanisms. It strives to create and promote a batch of nationally top-tier original Shenzhen fine arts works within five years, nurture several influential fine arts brands both domestically and internationally, accelerate the formation of the "Shenzhen School" in fine arts research and the "Shenzhen School of Painting" in creative endeavors, establish an artistic exchange platform connecting China with the world, foster a new style in Shenzhen's cultural arts, and contribute to building a harmonious, efficient, and nationally innovative city.

As one of China's earliest established Special Economic Zones, Shenzhen has, over the past three decades, created a miracle in the history of urbanization and modernization worldwide, providing a robust foundation for the development of Shenzhen's culture. The extraordinary growth of Shenzhen's fine arts sector is no less impressive than its economic development, with a large number of vigorous young artists in their prime, full of creative passion, and at the golden age of artistic creation. They possess agile minds, strong creativity, and the ability to grasp the themes of the times, capturing new trends, developments, and changes. Skilled at utilizing new technologies, materials, and methods to integrate formal and content innovation, they propel fine arts creation forward through novelty and change. To encourage them to express the great social practices of the people, reflect the themes and progress of the times through art, create thought-provoking, faith-inspired, resilient, moral, heartwarming, and popular artworks, and delve deep into life and root themselves among the people to produce more outstanding fine arts works with distinct themes, fresh ideas, strong appeal, and historical significance, the Shenzhen Artists Association launched the "Promotion Project for Outstanding Young Artists in Shenzhen" in 2011 to support local talented young artists. This project has been included as a significant component of the Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles' annual series of academic activities for artists and an essential platform for the excellent young fine arts talent cultivation plan outlined in the Shenzhen Artists Association's five-year development plan. With the support of the Municipal Propaganda and Cultural Development Special Fund, this platform hosts solo exhibitions, academic seminars, and publishes collections of works for Shenzhen's outstanding young fine arts artists, showcasing their creative achievements and artistic practices. So far, three phases of the project have been successfully held, introducing 24 outstanding young local painters from Shenzhen and garnering positive social responses.

To carry out this year's "Promotion Project for Outstanding Young Artists in Shenzhen," at the second meeting of the 7th Presidium of the Shenzhen Artists Association in 2016, the attending presidium members, with a conscientious and responsible attitude, conducted thorough discussions and rigorous procedures, ultimately selecting Guo Qingwen, Ke Mingze, Chen Xiaofeng, Zhong Qinyangzi, Chen Junfeng, He Liangfeng, Xue Yang, and Li Zhuangzhi as the eight young artists for the 2016 "Promotion Project for Outstanding Young Artists in Shenzhen (Phase IV)." To ensure the smooth progress of the selection process for the "Promotion Project for Outstanding Young Artists in Shenzhen," Vice Chairman Liang Yu of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles attached great importance to it, personally attending the meeting and offering specific guidance.

The works of the young artists selected this year encompass various art forms such as oil painting, traditional Chinese painting, watercolor, and printmaking, showcasing the artistic concepts and spiritual worlds of Shenzhen's young painters from diverse angles. These works embody both the inheritance of tradition and the exploration of contemporary artistic expressions, characterized by novel themes, diverse forms, varied styles, and distinctive personalities. They collectively represent and embody the creative state and vibrant appearance of Shenzhen's young art creation team. Additionally, they reflect the creative consciousness of Shenzhen's young painters, who strive for diversity, inheritance, and innovation, embodying distinct characteristics of our time. Naturally, the artistic styles of these outstanding young painters are still evolving and undergoing continuous refinement. We eagerly anticipate their further development through their relentless efforts and the promotion of the "Promotion Project for Outstanding Local Young Artists in Shenzhen"!