Kathmandu, July 15: A one-month-long exhibition of contemporary Chinese painting and calligraphy has kicked off here on Wednesday.
Former Chancellor of Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, Naradmani Hartamchhali, Curator and Researcher at the Wu Guanzhong Art Research Center in China’s Tsinghua University, Xu Hang, and Deputy Director of China Cultural Center in Nepal Liu Zhanping jointly inaugurated the event titled “Lanting Gathering: Overseas Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing.”
Saying that “Ink Connects Heart and Art Fosters Friendship’, former Chancellor Hartamchhali stated that such exhibitions are instrumental in fostering friendship, co-existence and collaboration.
Hartamchhali added that Nepal and China share proximity in the area of arts given our shared contents and concepts despite our diversities in creational techniques.
The former Chancellor called for interactive collaboration in fine arts between the two nations and urged to explore more platforms for fine art exhibition.
Likewise, Deputy Director of China Cultural Center in Nepal, Liu Zhanping, said this exhibition carries art, culture and creative consciousness of four major cities of China – Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing.
It features many renowned artists, a wide range of subject matter and diverse styles, combining the spirit of traditional brushwork with a contemporary sensibility, showcasing the diverse and vibrant landscape of contemporary Chinese calligraphy and painting art, the Deputy Director shared.
He mentioned that China and Nepal are close neighbours connected by mountains and rivers, with a friendship spanning generations. “Our peoples share close cultural ties and cultural and artistic exchange has always been an important bond for deepening mutual understanding and friendship,” Liu stated.
Also speaking at the event, Curator and Researcher at the Wu Guanzhong Art Research Center in China’s Tsinghua University, Xu Hang, said these four Chinese cities together form the most vivid portrait of the contemporary Chinese spirit, possessing both the depth of tradition and the breadth of the times; both a steadfast commitment to local roots and an open, embracing spirit.
Bringing these works to Nepal is precisely an effort to present through the most vivid brush and ink, a China that is real, diverse, and ever-developing, he added.
Holding this exhibition in Kathmandu and allowing the distinct styles of brush and ink from these four cities to converse on the same wall is itself a cultural symphony, he viewed.
Xu Hang has held solo exhibitions in New York, Oslo, Beijing, Hangzhou and other cities around the globe.
The exhibition brings together contemporary Chinese painting and calligraphy works from Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing, showcasing the richness of Chinese artistic traditions and contemporary creative expression.
More importantly, this exhibition provides a valuable platform for cultural dialogue, artistic appreciation and mutual understanding between Nepal and China.
Chinese painting and calligraphy have long been regarded as important expressions of China’s cultural heritage, reflecting artistic excellence, philosophical thoughts and aesthetic values developed over centuries.
The “Lanting Gathering” exhibition provides an opportunity for Nepali audience to appreciate contemporary interpretations of traditions while strengthening mutual understanding and cultural dialogue between our two countries.
The exhibition is being jointly organized by the China Cultural Center in Nepal, the China Center of International Cultural Exchange and Tourism Promotion and the Beijing China Millennium Monument Art Foundation. #nepal #rss
