Regeneration

Regeneration, Series I. 2021

Scope and Contents

The portfolio Regeneration showcases the work of eighteen contemporary young Chinese printmakers who are experimenting with and revitalizing the traditional woodblock printmaking process. The prints range from single-block monochrome images to complex multi-block prints using as many as fifty-three blocks. Some are printed with oil-based ink, while others use the traditional Chinese technique of printing with water-soluble colors that suggest wash-like effects.

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Cao Ou, Regeneration: Land of Dream and Reality, 2023.PR.14_1 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : color woodcut ; image 49 x 34 cm, sheet 59.2 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

A butterfly, seen multiple times in a landscape defined by a mountain and waters, emerges from a cocoon appearing within the contours of a colorful fan. Debris of its body appear falling towards the waters. Red arrows and lines, which evoke the scientific tools of a naturalist, chart and measure the journey of the butterfly.

The print is related to a series of prints titled Co-existence in which Cao explored insects and plants and their cycle of life and death.

Woodblock print printed from 53 pearwood and plywood blocks not sharing a common register, printed with water-soluble color onto pi paper.

Biographical / Historical

Cao Ou (born 1987, Heze in Shandong) lives and works as a freelance artist in Hangzhou, where he received an MA from the Printmaking Department of the China Academy of Art.

Bibliography

Regeneration, pages 1-9.

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Chen Mingming, Regeneration: My View of Li Tang's Painting, 2023.PR.14_2 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, indigo and black inks ; image 52 x 38 cm, sheet 59.4 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

The relief print, My View of Li Tang's Painting, reproduces in reverse and in a reduced composition Li Tang's monumental landscape painting on silk titled Wind in Pines among a Myriad of Valleys, which dates from 1124 (National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan).

Its printmaking technique, shuiyin, uses similar materials to the painting such as xuan paper, as well as plant- and mineral-based colors, with multiple printings of the sky emulating the ink wash in the painting. The cut marks of the relief printmaking process contrast however from the fluid brushstrokes in the painting, setting the landscape in a different atmosphere.

Polychrome woodblock print from six five-layered Chinese linden woodblocks, printed with water-soluble color onto xuan paper.

Biographical / Historical

Chen Mingming (born 1982, Nanyang in Henan) received a BA from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and lives in Beijing where he received an MA from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Bibliography

Regeneration, pages 11-21.

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Gu Xiuhua, Regeneration: Rhino Spirit, 2023.PR.14_3 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : wood engraving, black ink ; image 32.5 x 40.5 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

In the upper right-hand corner of the print stands a rhinoceros, which is copied after Albrecht Dürer's Rhinoceros. The rhinoceros's image is reflected in a large, ominous, dark body of water that echoes the sadness in the animal's eyes. A cicada, which has molted and shed its nymph skin, emerges from the water, and animates the composition as a sign of regeneration.

The print pays homage to Sudan, a captive rhinoceros in Kenya, who is now deceased and is believed to have been the last male northern white rhinoceros in the world.

Monochrome wood engraving, cut end-grain into engineered boxwood and pearwood block, printed with oil-based ink onto pi paper, mounted onto xuan paper.

Biographical / Historical

Gu Xiuhua (born 1988 in Linyi in Shandong) teaches in the Printmaking Department of the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts. He received a BA and an MA from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts.

Bibliography

Regeneration, pages 23-31.

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Guo Shuang, Regeneration: Imprisoned, 2023.PR.14_4 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, dark green ink ; image 23.5 x 50 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

Within a wooded landscape seen from above, men wearing prison uniforms walk through a forest composed of miniature trees and monumental empty bird cages. They ascend towards a well-lit horizon seen at the top of the image.

The print was inspired by the prison sentence of the artist's younger brother and is dedicated to the hope of rebirth and regeneration.

The dense composition is printed in a dark monochromatic green ink using a wood block that has holes created by insects and on a sheet of xuan paper that displays imperfections and discolorings.

Monochrome woodblock print cut side grain into a distressed pearwood block, printed with oil-based ink onto xuan paper.

Biographical/Historical: Guo Shuang, one of only three women printmakers selected for the portfolio, was born in 1990 in Zhoukou in Henan. She received a BA from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts and is studying for an MA at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 33-41.

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He Sanqing, Regeneration: Vessel, 2023.PR.14_5 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, gold, blue, and black inks and red seal ; image 32 x 49.5 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

The print represents a bronze vessel within which are depicted mountains emerging from a sea of waters.

Red seal at lower right corner.

The composition is animated by the different printmaking processes used by He Sanqing in this sheet. He has emulated the technique of composite bronze rubbings ( quanxingta), where ink printings are taken directly from the surface of vessels, here having substituted the woodblock for the bowl. The mountains are depicted using differently shaped and textured woodblocks (the shuiyin douban technique). The water within the bowl was represented using a traditional ink marking technique used by Chinese carpenters.

The vessel, dating from the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BCE), was used in rituals as a vessel for water. It was excavated from Baoji in Shaanxi province in 2003 (Baoji Bronzeware Museum).

Polychrome woodblock print; dab-printed from a bass-face plywood block cut right-reading together with individual wooden strips press printed onto the surface of xuan paper.

Biographical/Historical: He Sanqing (born 1988, Shaoyang in Hunan) teaches at the China Central Science and Technology University. He received a BA and an MA from the Printmaking Department at the China Academy of Art.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 43-51.

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Li Wenpeng, Regeneration: Immortals in the Mountain, 2023.PR.14_6 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, black ink ; image 30 x 45 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

The landscape print, which suggests tranquility and calm, represents mountains seen from above and within which are shown immortals.

Monochrome woodblock print from a bass-faced plywood block, printed with oil-based ink onto pi paper.

Biographical/Historical: Li Wenpeng (born 1991, Harbin in Heilongjiang) lives and works in Beijing where he received a BA and an MA from the Printmaking Department at the Central Academy of Arts (in 2017 and 2021 respectively). Wenpeng does not make preparatory drawings for his prints but cuts directly into the woodblock.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 53-61.

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Liu Jing, Regeneration: Eternal Cycles, 2023.PR.14_7 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, relief, and lithograph ; image 38 x 53 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

Eternal Cycles appears to be the photograph of a folded sheet, showing at left a seated baby who faces the viewer, and at right an elderly bearded man seen from the back and plunged into darkness. The child wears Buddhist prayer beads, which evoke the ceremony associated with objects selected by children and meant to suggest their chosen path.

Polychrome woodblock, relief and planographic print from multiple bass-faced plywood blocks and a pre-sensitized lithographic plate, printed with oil-based ink onto Mourlot printmaking paper.

Biographical/Historical: Liu Jing (born 1983, Loudi, Hunan) is deputy director at the Changsha Normal School of Art and Design, where he also teaches. He received an MA from Shenzhen University School of Art.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 63-73.

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Liu Keji, Regeneration: Dream City, 2023.PR.14_8 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : relief print, black ink ; image 46 x 32 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

Dream City represents a futuristic city by a river or an ocean that takes on the form of a mountain with bridges, trains, and planes that are animated by small figures and animals.

Monochrome relief print from a resin sheet, printed with oil-based ink onto cotton-based paper.

Biographical/Historical: Liu Keji (born 1992, Guizhou, Wengan County) lives in Guiyang and received an MA from the Fine Arts Department of the South China Science and Engineering University.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 75-81.

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Lu Yan, Regeneration: Floating Life, 2023.PR.14_9 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, pale gray, medium gray, dark blue-gray, and black inks ; image 52 x 38 cm, sheet 59.4 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

In Regeneration: Floating Life, bubbles that are symbols of the ephemeral aspect of life contain images of landscapes or of Buddhas and float within a space divided into three structures: the night sky, the clear horizon, and the earth. The earth is incongruously depicted as a platform on which stands Xiangtang Mountain, a mountain that is located near the artist's hometown.

Polychrome woodblock print, four printings from two bass-faced plywood blocks cut on both sides, printed with oil-based ink.

Biographical/Historical: Lu Yan (born 1980, Handan in Hebei) received an MA from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2015.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 83-91.

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Shao Weifeng, Regeneration: Big Market, 2023.PR.14_10 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, red, yellow, and blue-black inks ; image 27 x 38.5 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

In Regeneration: Big Market, lively crowds are shown in a busy marketplace that is depicted in bright red with blue-black contours suggesting the lines of high-rise buildings.

According to the artist, the print was inspired by a short poem by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) in Stray Birds (1916): "Once we dreamt that we were strangers. We wake up to find that we were dear to each other."

Polychrome woodblock print, eight printings from four bass-faced plywood blocks cut on both sides; printed with oil-based ink onto heavy weight xuan paper.

Biographical/Historical: Shao Weifeng (born 1980, Fugou in Henan) works at the Beihai Academy of Art and Design and graduated in 2019 with an MA from the Printmaking Department of the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 93-105.

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Shi Lei, Regeneration: The Phoenix Rises, 2023.PR.14_11 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : wood engraving, black ink ; image 54.5 x 38 cm, sheet 59.4 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

From a lotus, a symbol of rebirth associated with Buddhism, figures and animals rise amidst smoke and fire and rise into a phoenix.

Monochrome wood engraving, cut end grain into an engineered pearwood block and printed with oil-based ink onto yanpi paper.

Biographical/Historical: Shi Lei (born 1982, Tianjin) received an MA from the Printmaking Department of the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 107-113.

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Wu Jiantang, Regeneration: Layered Screens, 2023.PR.14_12 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, black ink ; image 43.5 x 38.5 cm, sheet 59.4 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

Cranes and a pine tree, traditional motifs in Chinese painting, appear in the foreground, while a man is seen standing in the background, unaware of his surroundings. The title of the print refers to the complex, multi-faceted jagged bamboo screens that animate the composition and contrast with the stillness of the human figure, who is self-absorbed.

Monochrome woodblock print from a bass-faced plywood block, printed with oil-based ink onto pi paper.

Biographical/Historical: Wu Jiantang (born 1986, Guizhou, Pingba County) graduated with a BA from the Printmaking Department of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, and in 2017 with an MA in printmaking from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 115-123.

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Xu Na, Regeneration: Reconstruction, 2023.PR.14_13 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : wood engraving, black ink with hand coloring ; image 42 x 32.5 cm, sheet 59.4 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

At left are rocks with angular shapes and which are printed in dark black ink. They are Taihu rocks named after Lake Tai in the Yangtze Delta region. At right stands a delicately drawn court lady, whose headdress is mounted by a peony flower that is hand colored in pink. The composition is set against a background of repeated motifs of rippled water waves.

Monochrome wood engraving, cut end grain into an engineered hardwood block and printed with oil-based ink onto zuan paper with additional hand coloring.

Biographical/Historical: Xu Na, one of only three women printmakers selected for the portfolio, was born in 1986 in Zaozhuang, Shandong. She graduated in 2015 with an MA from the Printmaking Department of the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. Na is a lecturer in the Printmaking Department of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 125-133.

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Xu Zhonghong, Regeneration: The Gengzi Year (2020), 2023.PR.14_14 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut in black ink and color screenprint ; image 45 x 32 cm, sheet 59.4 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

The print represents with photographic realism a light-blue colored Covid surgical mask encapsulated within a wrinkled plastic bag. The mask and the plastic bag were made using a screen printing process. They are set over a black background made using a woodblock printing process.

The title of the print refers to the cosmological calendar system that combines stems and earthly branches with Gengzi years, which occur every sixty years and traditionally presage disasters.

Monochrome woodblock print cut in birch-faced plywood, printed with oil-based ink onto xuan paper together with additional polychrome photo-screen printed elements.

Biographical/Historical: Xu (born 1991, Liu'an, Anhui) graduated with an MA from the Yunnan Academy of Arts in 2018.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 135-145.

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Yao Yuanlu, Regeneration: Breaking Through the Cocoon, 2023.PR.14_15 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : color woodcut ; image 30 x 42 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

Over a background of delicate droplets of rain that appear to shine, five butterflies fly away; one is printed in pink and stands out from the monochromatic dark background.

Monochrome woodblock print, seven printings, six from three bass-faced plywood blocks cut on both sides and one from a pearwood block; printed with water-soluble color onto xuan paper.

Biographical/Historical: Yao Yuanlu (born 1987, Heze in Shandong) graduated with a BA and an MA from the Printmaking Department of the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (respectively in 2010 and 2013).

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 147-155.

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Zhang Lingrui, Regeneration: Spring Comes to the Withered Trees, 2023.PR.14_16 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, 5 colors including light gray, medium gray, and dark gray inks ; image 32 x 49 cm, sheet 42 x 59.4 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

A wooden floor and wall panels suggest a stark, rough, and bare room, while lively abstract lines of vines and branches animate the composition.

The bare room recalls the poor conditions the artist grew up in, while the lively calligraphic lines and the print's title, which refers to spring, confer optimism to the composition.

Polychrome woodblock print from multiple bass-faced plywood blocks, two of the three blocks having been cut as reduction blocks; printed with oil-based color onto xuan paper.

Biographical/Historical: Zhang Lingrui (born 1992, Huaihua, Hunan) received an MA in the Printmaking Department of the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts in 2018 and is now studying in South Korea at Sangmyung University.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 157-169.

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Zhang Qiuyuan, Regeneration: Hoop, 2023.PR.14_17 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : color woodcut, red inks ; image 50 x 35.5 cm, sheet 59.4 x 42 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

The solemn abstract work, Hoop, consists of the repeated motif of an oval hoop that seems to radiate energy. According to the artist, the different shades of red symbolize death and blood, as well as hope.

Polychrome woodblock print from a single bass-faced plywood reduction block in six printings, printed with oil-based ink onto Stonehenge paper.

Biographical/Historical: Zhang Qiuyuan, one of only three women printmakers selected for the portfolio, was born in 1993 in Langfang in Hebei. She studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, where she received a BA in 2017.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 171-177.

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Zuo Wei, Regeneration: Mountains Beyond Mountains, 2023.PR.14_18 2021

Physical Description: 1 print : woodcut, black ink ; image 42 x 59.5 cm, sheet 42 x 59.5 cm (A2 format)

Scope and Contents

What appears to be a thorny plant with ragged edges in this dark composition, is--according to the title--a mountain. Instead of serving as a traditional symbolic link between the earth and the heavens, the mountain obscures a veiled figure seen in the background. Positive and negative dots animate the composition.

Monochrome woodblock print from two bass-faced plywood blocks, printed with oil-based ink onto Fabriano paper.

Biographical/Historical: Zuo Wei (born 1987, Changsha, Hunan) received an MA in the Department of Arts of the Hunan Science and Technology University in 2014.

Bibliography: Regeneration, pages 179-189.