Study Group

Along with the development of contemporary Chinese culture, Chinese oil painting not only possesses its own unique background and situation, but also faces serious consideration and interpretation of questions of spirit and quality. On the one hand, widespread social demand, modern media and imaging technologies have both advanced and muddled the popularization of oil painting; on the other hand, the intersection between oil painting and everyday issues promotes the active expression of certain ideologies and ways of life, but also allows for the passive obscuration of oil painting language and study space.

From value system to artistic language, from modernity to nationality, Chinese oil painting requires continuous and deep study on multiple levels.

The methods, worldviews, paradigms, essences, and emotions of oil painting form a unified whole. At the same time, due to the practical and unique considerations of art making, oil painting must contribute to the diversification and enrichment of Chinese culture, while revealing new values, results and histories in the process.

To this end, the Academy has selected artists of varying ages from around the country to form the Chinese Oil Painting Study Group. The Study Group is a brand-new model for study of art, and consists of 30 excellent Chinese artists with unique identities, qualities, creative talent, growth potential and strong influence, who will study and create art based on the ontology of painting, cultural awareness, and shared ideals and passions. Through deep study of the ontology of painting, the Study Group can realize the contemporary expansion of the classical spirit, the Chinese adaptation of modernism, and the integration of Eastern and Western languages of painting, thereby reaching a higher level of oil painting art.

Strength in numbers cannot be overlooked, and individual talent cannot be replaced. The Study Group practices art through communal exchange, group study, and individual creation. It faces the contemporary with reality and individuality; it invokes the classics through tradition inherited by free thinking.

During the three year term of the Study Group, members endeavor to fulfill the program’s purpose through personal practice, namely, studying the form system of Western oil painting, ethnic traditions and local culture, humanistic content and qualities of language, and unadulterated cultural expression and values.

Study also includes the position and orientation of art in a contemporary culture with diverse ideologies and values, amidst the intersection of East and West, development and tradition, classics and modernity, and nationality and universality. Through the discovery of tradition, nature, and life experiences, members of the Group can create high-quality works of art embodying the zeitgeist and sincere emotions. By advancing the healthy development of Chinese oil painting and expanding China’s cultural influence, we can realize our contribution to contemporary and human culture.