He Jianguo (Chinese: 何建国,梨花书屋主人, 1951-2021), is a contemporary Chinese idiosyncratic. He Jianguo is regarded as a twentieth-century artist who is continuing the literati tradition. His brushstrokes and calligraphy are unorthodox and he has no fear of turning his back on traditional methods. He draws heavily on traditional subjects, but offers his own interpretation and takes joy in depicting typical Beijing scenes and the life of his family and friends. As a strong based of Chinese ink artist, he studied privately with many Chinese calligraphy top masters for traditional techniques. In the meanwhile the freedom expressed in his works can be seen as the direct result of not having endured a restrictive art school education.
He seeks to unite the scholaramateur aesthetic, Chinese brush work and certain compositional principle interest in Formalism. Being a great fan of artists such as Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne and Kandinsky, He Jianguo uses principles of rhythm to compose his paintings and grid like structure to order the picture surface.
Ink painters are generally labelled conservative, irrespective of their work, because they do not sever ties with Chinese tradition. He Jianguo is not part of the ‘avant-garde’ but he is one of the few ink painters who are working creatively with what in lesser hands is a stultifying tradition. He seeks to achieve a union of Chinese and Western artistic languages that is relevant to themselves.
Bibliography
editPermanent Collection
editCollection of New South Wales Art Gallery, Australia [1]
Year | Title | Place of Origin | Credit |
---|---|---|---|
Mid-Late 20th Century | Serenity (Calligraphy)[2] | China | Gift of Sun Yu 1990 |
Mid-Late 20th Century | Drinking under the Moon[3] | China | Anonymous Gift 1990 |
1985 | Portrait of Chen Lang[4] | China | Purchased 1993 |
1987 | Still life[5] | China | Purchased 1993 |
Publications
editYear | Title | Author | Publisher | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Rule of Beauty | He Jianguo, Zhang Zikang | Hebei Education Publishing | ISBN 7-5434-5967-1 | |
2006 | Today's Chinese Calligraphy Artist He Jianguo | He Jianguo | Hebei Education Publishing | ISBN 7-5434-6405-5 | |
2006 | Chinese Most Representative Artist Series | He Jianguo, Linuo | Today Art Museum, China | - | |
2006 | Chinese Paintings: Artist of today He Jianguo | He Jianguo, XuLei | Today Art Museum, China | - | |
2006 | INK: Whiteley and others | He Jianguo | The Brett Whiteley Studio | New South Wales, Australia | - |
2004 | The Porcelain from He Jianguo | He Jianguo | Hebei Education Publishing | ISBN 7-5434-5130-1 | |
2003 | The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales | He Jianguo, Jackie Menzies | Art Gallery of New South Wales | - | |
1998 | Contemporary Chinese Artist He Jianguo | He Jianguo | Hebei Education Publishing | ISBN 7-5434-3168-8 | |
1995 | Art of the Brush: Chinese & Japanese Painting Calligraphy | He Jianguo, Jackie Menzies | Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales | - | |
1994 | The Art Gallery of New South Wales collection | He Jianguo, Ewen McDonald | Art Gallery of New South Wales | - | |
1993 | Kreatief: Literair En Kunstkritisch Tijdschrift | He Jianguo, Mieke Bongers | Belgium | - | |
1992 | New Art From China-Post-Mao Product | He Jianguo, Claire Roberts | Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales | - |
References
editExternal links
editBooks are collected by the following libraries
- Library of Congress U.S.
- https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=STNO&searchType=1&recCount=25&searchArg=9787543431683
- https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=11696&recCount=25&recPointer=2&bibId=13733474
- Metropolitan museum libraries https://library.metmuseum.org/search/?searchtype=o&searcharg=750093357
- Smithsonian museum libraries https://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?menu=search&aspect=power&profile=liball&index=UTILEXP&term=46444058
- Stanford university libraries https://searchworks.stanford.edu/?q=750093357
- Harvard university libraries https://hollis.harvard.edu/primo-explore/search?tab=books&search_scope=default_scope&vid=HVD2&query=lsr02,contains,750093357
- Cornell university https://catalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/3928638
- The Ohio states university libraries https://library.ohio-state.edu/search/o750093357
- Free university Berlin https://fu-berlin.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990044607820402883&context=L&vid=49KOBV_FUB:FUB&search_scope=FUB&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=FUB&query=any,contains,9787543431683&lang=de