Because we know, from the names of the artists and from the exhibition itself, that the authors of the snowy scene that could have been signed by a French impressionist, or the panorama of a river surrounded by dry hills that seems to have come from the brush of a Spanish landscape painter from the 19th century are Chinese, because otherwise it would be very easy for us to make a mistake in the attribution of the works. The effect is not artificial in this exhibition, Beyond Realism. Figurative art from China and Spain, which shows one hundred paintings by as many creators, 50 Chinese and 50 Spanish, precisely on the occasion of the 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries, and which has previously been seen in the Chinese cities of Hangzhou and Beijing.
Antonio López, of whom two of his views of Madrid’s Gran Vía are exhibited, acknowledges in one of the texts of the catalog that he does not know in depth the art that comes from the immense Asian country, a reproach that a large part of the art scene could make. internationally, especially with regard to figuration. The Tomelloso painter also highlights that the time has come to alleviate this deficit, which is only partial, because the Chinese realists know Spanish figuration very well, not in vain has it been one of the sources of their inspiration and knowledge, David explains. Qiu, project director of APIAEC. This is how it is and this is how it is seen in the works.
We said that it is easy to be mistaken and think that a good number of the Chinese paintings on display are by Western authors, and there is a reason. While realist painting is part of the history of European art, in China it is relatively recent; it was not until the first decades of the 20th century when its practice appeared, due to French influence, to be consolidated in the following decades, in a very rapid evolution reflected in The exhibition; Yes, everything moves very fast in China, art too. And a practice that drew from the original ascendants, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch painting, something that is revealed to be traceable.
It is paradoxical that while figuration was questioned in the West, from the avant-garde to abstract expressionism, and was, let’s say, in retreat, it flourished on the literal other side of the world, and under the influence of the same currents that were marginalized in the United States or Europe, also in our country. However, in Spain in the 60s, artists like Antonio López led a resurgence and renewal of realist painting, which is also the subject of the exhibition, confronting it with Chinese painting.
At first it was Russian influence, first through Ilya Repin, one of the greatest Russian masters of the 19th century, then socialist realism. The proximity of the USSR had a strong impact on Chinese art in the 1950s, when oil painting was recognized as a discipline in that country. Hard and dedicated workers, group scenes, the body as a reflection of a golden future, we find all of this in Chinese figuration.
For example, in Zhang Zuying’s Amir Uighur Blacksmith (2006), in which a young man rests by the fire in an attitude of dominance and serenity. The Western visitor will surely be struck by the physique of this blacksmith, who is less Asian than we usually expect. No, in this case the Russian influence is limited to the style, because the man belongs to the Uighur minority, with Central Asian features.
The ethnic minorities of the Chinese giant are highly represented, in portraits such as Ayiguli Tajik Girl in a Suit (2007), by Quan Shanshi. The beautiful portrait was born from a trip by the artist to the Pamir mountain range, and was executed in a single session. Many of these portraits focus on the female figure, such as A Tibetan Girl from Gannan (2007), by Yang Feiyun, or The Golden Age (2022), by Pang Maokun, in which a group of Yi women wear their traditional attire. while they check their cell phones. There are also male portraits and group scenes, such as Zhao Peizhi’s Strangers in Maeryang (2013), which shows a group of Tajik herders with their yaks, and interiors, such as Xia Baoyuan’s The Cook of Xinjiang (1986), which drinks directly of the Spanish baroque by playing with light effects and composition to show a Uyghur community.
If the first influence was Russian, the opening of China in the 80s of the last century allowed artists from that country to come into contact with different techniques, materials and visions, much more varied, from the rest of Europe and the United States. As David Qiu explains, they wanted to “see everything, know everything, and learn from everything.” It is surprising how they have managed to do it in such a short time.
The vision of many of these works, with their obvious Western influence, also works as a mirror: this is how we have painted, this is how these very distant artists see the way we have done it; When we contemplate the Uighur cook among his pots we cannot help but think of Velázquez’s gaze, when the green of the vest of the figure in The Drummer (2016) merges with that of the wall Magritte appears to us through Xu Mangyao , Guo Runwen’s The Lantern Festival (2009) is immediately part of the Dutch Golden Age, and it is impossible to look at Wen Lipeng’s Strong West Wind (2007) without thinking of Paul Sérusier’s The Nabi Talisman (1888), or Patria, No. 2 (2012) by Zhang Xiaoming without seeing Zurbarán after his intense red.
We have focused on Chinese artists because they are unknown; among the Spanish there are figures such as Antonio López himself, Isabel Quintanilla, Julio Vaquero or César Galicia. The entire complex constitutes perhaps the most interesting exhibition that can be seen right now in Madrid.
Beyond Realism: figurative art in China and Spain
Organized by National Heritage and the Association for the Promotion of Artistic Exchange between Spain and China, (APIAEC) Curators: Cao Yiqiang and Sir Nicholas Penny. Royal Madrid Palace www.patrimonionacional.es/actualidad/expuestas. Until May 26th
