Exhibition Dates: December 13th - 21st, 2016

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

Organizers: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen & Yi Zhai Art Museum, Gwangju, South Korea

This year marks the 13th edition of the "Sino-South Korea Ink Art Exchange Exhibition." Over the years, the Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen, China, and the Yi Zhai Art Museum in Gwangju, South Korea, have jointly built a bridge for cultural and artistic exchanges, fostering the promotion of traditional Oriental art and culture while enhancing friendly relations and cultural interactions between the two countries. Those who follow this event have enjoyed immersing themselves in the exquisite atmosphere created by Oriental ink paintings. Indeed, compared to pure linguistic exchanges, the spiritual dimension of cultural and artistic communication seems to resonate more deeply with people.

The theme of this year's exhibition is "Poetry in Painting," inspired by Su Shi's (Song Dynasty) commentary on Wang Wei's "Blue Pass Rain and Mist Painting": "Savoring Wang Wei's poems, one finds paintings within them; observing Wang Wei's paintings, one discovers poems within them." Su Shi believed that Wang Wei's greatest achievement lay in creating a realm where poetry and painting merge, thereby endowing ink painting with a truly vivid and harmonious aesthetic. Incorporating poetic sentiments and moods into painting creation gradually became one of the most important aesthetic criteria for ink painting, especially since the 10th century and particularly in the Song Dynasty. Confucius once said, "Without studying the Book of Songs, one cannot communicate and express oneself properly." Both China and South Korea share a profound Confucian cultural tradition, where poetry, along with rites and music, serves as a primary means of moral education. The Confucian tradition emphasizes the cultivation and elevation of one's spiritual realm, and the connection between poetry and painting is intimately tied to the integrity of one's character, artistic style, and poetic taste, nurturing a noble and well-rounded ideal personality that has become a fundamental requirement for traditional artists' identity. Even in modern times, the pursuit of perfection in life's realm has made the Confucian cultural tradition one of the most valuable sources of modern thought. The poetic heritage of China and South Korea is like an inexhaustible treasure trove. This ink art exchange emphasizes that artists from both countries should draw upon their respective poetic traditions (including modern poetry) as creative inspiration, aiming to reveal the poetic essence in painting from a modern perspective and present the characteristics of modern Oriental ink painting through the fusion of poetry and painting. This allows the personal cultivation embodied in poetry and painting to become a dialogue between an artist's inner spirit and the external world.

For this exhibition, we have primarily invited artists from the Chinese Painting Art Committee of the Shenzhen Artists Association. This exhibition provides an opportunity for artists from both cities to understand and engage in deeper cultural exchanges. We believe that the outstanding ink paintings by artists from both countries will contribute to strengthening the friendship between the peoples of China and South Korea.

Director of Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China

Chen Xiangbo