Exhibition Title: "Ancient Elegance And New Understanding" – 2018 Exchange Exhibition Of Sino-Korean Ink Art

Exhibition Dates: December 25, 2018 To January 6, 2019

Venue: Halls A & B, First Floor, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen

Organizer: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen & Yizhai Art Museum, Gwangju, Korea

Undertaker: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen

As the year draws to a close in the abundant month of December, it marks a time when we warmly welcome our friends from afar in Korea. Confucius once said, "How delightful it is to have a friend coming from afar"" Their arrival, akin to the warm sun on a winter's day, fills our hearts with genuine warmth. Jointly organized by the Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen, China, and the Yizhai Art Museum in Gwangju, Korea, the "Sino-Korean Ink Art Exchange Exhibition" has for decades focused on fostering exchanges in the realm of ink art between our two nations. Art enthusiasts will find in this exhibition a vibrant showcase of creative and research forces from the ink art scene of both countries, as well as the most pertinent academic trends.

This year, we proudly present the 15th edition of "Ancient Elegance And New Understanding – 2018 Sino-Korean Ink Art Exchange Exhibition." In 1907, the renowned Chinese scholar Wang Guowei solemnly established "Ancient Elegance" as an independent aesthetic category, embodying profound insights and aspirations. The classical aesthetics of the East boasts a long and illustrious history, rich in depth and breadth. Aestheticians have proposed numerous aesthetic categories and propositions, especially in modern times when, like other cultural ideologies, Eastern aesthetics faced the challenge of Western influences. At the dawn of the 20th century, marked by intense cultural exchanges and collisions between East and West, Eastern artists had to make a choice. Wang Guowei's concept of "Ancient Elegance" was a response to this choice. Standing at the threshold of a new century, we still confront similar dilemmas: how to integrate Chinese classical aesthetics with Western aesthetics, or to blend them seamlessly. This is a modern imperative that Asian artists, steeped in the rich heritage of Eastern civilization, cannot overlook. The current "Ancient Elegance And New Understanding – 2018 Sino-Korean Ink Art Exchange Exhibition" showcases the reflections and choices of artists from both countries in their ink painting creations against the backdrop of contemporary culture. I believe that through this exhibition and subsequent exchanges, artists from both places will gain academic insights and energy.