The China Project

65 Three Decades: The Contemporary Chinese Collection The process of painting: Chinese painting materials in the 1980s Anne Carter and Gillian Osmond Gu Wenda / China 1925–2006 Guo Zhonglian / China b.1940 Night ambush c.1985 Oil on canvas / 181.1 x 141cm / Gift of Nicholas Jose and Claire Roberts through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2007 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery The materiality of a painting provides unique information that enriches our knowledge of an artist’s practice. The physical form also gives insight into the culture and circumstances in which an art work is created, and reflects the choices available to the artist. The appearance of paintings can change over time, and an informed knowledge of materials and techniques can aid conservation and restoration treatments, as well as assist in the interpretation of an artist’s intent and determine a work’s authenticity. Through four very different works in the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery — Ah Xian’s Heavy wounds series no.10 1991, Guan Wei’s Wo yu (Kneeling fish) 1986, Gu Wenda’s Lay down your arms (Jiao qiang bu sha) 1985 and Night ambush c.1985 (with collaborating artist Guo Zhonglian) — we are able to document an era of immense change in these artists’ lives, and in the rapidly modernising China of the 1980s and early 1990s. During our research and conservation treatment of these paintings, it became apparent that these artists were strongly influenced by Western oil painting and drawing techniques, and that they each shared a healthy respect for quality of technique. Oil painting in China Oil is a relatively new medium for Chinese artists and it was not until the early twentieth century that training became available in oil painting techniques. 1 Considered progressive, oil painting was adopted by the founders of the Chinese Republic in 1912 for its ability to produce more ‘truthful’ and ‘realistic’ paintings than traditional guohua (painting in black and coloured ink on paper and silk). 2 The first teachers of oil painting were both Japanese and Chinese, trained in Japan, and based their teaching on the tradition of French Academic painting. 3 With the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the practice of oil painting was invested with a new set of political and social values. From the 1950s, artists were required to undergo examination in Western drawing techniques before they were accepted for official art training, and ‘realistic’ drawing remains a skill of which many contemporary artists are proud. 4 Academic art training was suspended during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), and painters were instead recruited to produce official art in support of government policies. The number of oil paintings produced during this decade led to the development of a highly skilled group of artists. 5 This period also saw increased interest in Western drawing and perspective. The production of oil paints in China was well underway by the 1920s, but documentation of the paints produced is limited. It is not known what quality of oil paint was being produced in China, or to what extent imported paints were available. 6 The popularity of oil painting during the Cultural Revolution was such that factories worked overtime to meet demand. 7 Guo Zhonglian, Gu Wenda’s wife, who collaborated with him on Night ambush c.1985, remembers her husband having fine, imported oil paints confiscated during the Cultural Revolution, which were never returned. While making Night ambush with government-issued oil paints, he constantly lamented their loss, the state-issued paints being of much lesser quality. 8