2018年CRI Chinese artist embeds elements of fairytale and military in artworks

 

A Chinese artist has recently grabbed a lot of public attention for his unique artworks that look playful, but also mirror his previous experience as a soldier.

Contemporary artist Shen Jingdong recently opened a small-scale solo exhibition titled "Guns and Roses" in Beijing.

"There are military-themed paintings in various types of art exhibitions in China. However, these artworks are mainly realistic portraits, which, overall, look quite tedious in its style. Today, young people favor funny items with a childlike interest. Thus, I'm looking for an artistic¹ interpretation² that may enable viewers to feel relaxed."

The characters in Shen's artwork - important historic figures and regulary people - mostly look like a colorful candy figures with smiles.

Shen's solo exhibition has also attracted a group of international visitors.

Harvey Dzodin, a researcher currently working in China, is among them.

"Because I've seen this artist's work before, and so I decided³ to come here to see some works I hadn't seen before. I like art. It's one of the amazing things about contemporary China---that the degree of creativity. And certainly in America, where I'm from, we have a lot of creative artists, but not as many as here; not as much variety as here."

Shen Jingdong, who became the President of Oil Painting Academy of Contemporary Art Institute of China in 2014, has held more than 20 solo exhibitions worldwide, including in the US and Spain.

The "Guns and Roses" exhibition will last until September 15th.

1 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

2 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。