Exhibition of Lai Zhigang's Accumulated Ink Landscape Paintings Opens in Taiwan

On September 4, 2019, the Lai Zhigang Accumulated Ink Landscape Painting Exhibition opened at the Yixian Gallery on the 3rd floor of the Taipei National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The exhibition was co-hosted by Lai Zhigang Accumulated Ink Landscape Cultural Company and Taiwan’s Xizhi Hall, with Chen Shaojun, President of Xizhi Hall, serving as the curator.

List of Guests Attending the Opening Ceremony:

Huang Guangnan, former President of Taiwan University of the Arts

Chen Zhuanxi, renowned Chinese art historian and critic

Lin Muhe, former board member of the Qingguan Yaji Society and the Chinese Cultural Society

Wen Yuru, Financial Manager of the Daba Hui Group

Wang Dingqian, veteran collector

Shi Jinsheng

Chen Dexin, former Executive Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology

Zhang Cai-Lian, Deputy Director of Daba Hui Life Health Industry

Lin Zhanghu, former Dean of the Fine Arts College of Taipei University of the Arts

Jiang Mingxian, former Director of the Fine Arts Department of Taiwan Normal University

Wang Zhenhua, Chairman of Labenel

Qing Minliang, former Director of the Cultural Bureau of New Taipei City

Zhou Kangsheng, Chairman of the Chinese General Cultural Exchange Association

Legislative Yuan members Xu Zhiyong and Chen Chaoming

Artist Wu Jitao

Photographer Zhuang Ling and his wife Chen Xiasheng

Exhibition Details:

The exhibition showcased over 70 of Lai Zhigang’s accumulated ink works. Visitors had the opportunity to view Lai’s large-scale masterpieces such as "Art & Path," the long scroll "Fuchun Mountains Residence," and "Small Cloud Path," as well as a selection of smaller sketch works.

Lai Zhigang, also known as Yun Chan, was born in 1963 and has received the prestigious "China Artists Association Golden Color Award" for excellence. Through tireless effort and over 40 years of artistic exploration, Lai Zhigang has delved deeply into tradition with the greatest strength and broken through it with the greatest courage. He has absorbed the essence of the accumulated ink techniques of Gong Xian, Huang Binhong, and Li Keran, expressing the profound and grand landscape realm with the simplest ink language, creating a new style of accumulated ink landscape painting. His depiction of "clouds" has become a unique artistic symbol. Renowned theorist and critic Pi Daojian commented, "Lai Zhigang’s use of light ink to paint accumulated ink is technically challenging, but his ability to render clouds and mist so vividly is a remarkable achievement in his art."

Lai Zhigang practices the "struggling scholar" spirit of Li Keran. The sketch works displayed in this exhibition have also been showcased in Japan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Huizhou, Three Gorges Shennongjia, and Huangshan. He meticulously observes with his brush, travels thousands of miles, reads extensively, and paints vast mountains and rivers with a broad heart. He measures the height and depth of art with his "heart."

Chen Shaojun, curator of this exhibition and President of Xizhi Hall, expressed in an interview, "We are honored to host Mr. Lai’s first exhibition in Taiwan at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Mr. Lai not only absorbs the experience of predecessors but also integrates Chinese and Western cultures to achieve the most profound expression. It is truly admirable."

Exhibitions of Lai Zhigang's art have been held in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Taipei. His accumulated ink landscape art has captivated various cities and deeply moved everyone who viewed it.

Jiang Mingxian, former Director of the Fine Arts Department at Taiwan Normal University, commented, "Viewing Mr. Lai Zhigang’s works, if I were to summarize my impressions in two words, it would be 'shocking.' It is splendid! The grandeur and depth are highly impressive! Even his smaller sketch works can connect to a larger realm. Although small, its grandeur is conveyed."

Notable art critic Chen Zhuanxi traveled all the way from Beijing to Taiwan to attend the opening ceremony and gave a "high score" to Lai Zhigang’s masterpiece "Art & Path."

Chen Zhuanxi evaluated, "Mr. Lai Zhigang’s 'Art & Path' is particularly representative of modern landscape painting, aligned with the spirit of the times, and is grand and dynamic. No one has yet surpassed him in this regard."

Common culture is the foundation for uniting the two sides of the strait, and art is the shortest bridge connecting the families on both sides. Who can innovate while preserving a culture passed down for thousands of years? The answer is clear when one sees Mr. Lai Zhigang’s paintings.

The Lai Zhigang Art Exchange Seminar will be held at Zhongshan Auditorium on the 1st floor of the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall at 2 PM on September 7, and will continue until the exhibition concludes on September 15.