A life of paintings and gratitude

Artist tells all in a newly released autobiography and book series, Cheng Yuezhu reports.

With family roots deeply anchored in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China, artist Jiang Zhixin is dedicated to portraying the sublime landscape and psyche of living beings through a contemporary take on the traditional ink medium.

In a recently published autobiography, Jiang narrates his life's journey, beginning from his humble childhood to a relentless pursuit of an artistic profession, and his later travels around the world to get inspiration for his artwork.

The autobiography is part of his new four-volume book series The Jiang Zhixin Collection, which includes two books of his selected works and a collection of essays critiquing and evaluating his creations.

"I'm essentially a farmer's son, without any background or anyone to rely on," says Jiang.

Born and raised in a village at the foot of Kongtong Mountain in Gansu province, Jiang is one of six children who helped to support the family from an early age. He and his five siblings had to herd cattle, collect medicinal herbs, chop firewood and harvest bamboo in the mountains.

With an innate interest in art, Jiang started practicing calligraphy when he was about 7 years old, with a piece of brick as paper and red clay slurry as ink.

He did not start professional art studies until 1971, when he was admitted into Northwest Normal University in Lanzhou, Gansu province. Though many people suggested that he should apply for medical studies, Jiang was determined to pursue his passion for art.

"You can only imagine how difficult it was back then. I had to go to university and study hard in order to leave that remote and backward place," Jiang says.

Despite his impoverished background, Jiang has deep affection for his homeland, which continues to be his main motivation when starting on a new art piece.

In 1982, Jiang had the opportunity to learn from Wang Wenfang, an artist from Beijing Fine Art Academy. Wang told him that he should paint objects that he is most familiar with and has a connection to. As his hometown of Pingliang lies on the Loess Plateau, he started touring around the area, trying to capture its essence.

In the next three years, Jiang created a series of landscape paintings of the plateau. Soon after, in 1986, he held his first solo exhibition at the National Art Museum of China.

Jiang talks about the subjects of his paintings with a sense of wonder and amazement. "The exhibition's success empowered and motivated me. I could not stop, so I visited the Yellow River and its Hukou Waterfall," he says. "I was so excited that I took my shirt off and threw away the fruit I was carrying."

He then visited other scenic spots along the Yellow River, painting the waterway in several different forms, from its limpid tranquillity to its unruly streams.

As the need to showcase artwork connecting with his northwestern Chinese identity grows, Jiang's love for the land also extends to creations based on the local flora and fauna. This includes the wild yak and the tenacious diversifolious poplar trees, known to grow in arid soil and desert landscapes.

"The poplar forest is like a battlefield, many standing and others fallen. For 1,000 years, some trees have survived, some have died but have not fallen, and some have fallen but have not rotten yet," Jiang says.

"Upon seeing the trees, I felt the urge to hug them and wail. There was almost like a spiritual connection between us. I not only chose them as the subjects of my paintings, but they also chose me."

His representative subjects, including the Yellow River, the loess and the desert, are showcased across seven chapters in two volumes of his selected works.

The preparation for the books took three years, says Jing Yucheng, vice-president of the China Power Art Association. During this time, the editors went through a total of nearly 1,000 works by Jiang spanning the past 45 years. They eventually selected 230 of them to be included in the books.

"Coincidentally, Jiang was born in 1949, the same year as New China,"Jing says. "The dramatic changes in our country over the past 70 years are fully reflected in Jiang's works. So, in my opinion, his works provide a reflection of New China's history."

Jiang's compelling painting style and powerful sentiment for his subjects won him recognition at home and abroad. He was invited to France and Germany for solo exhibitions, and was conferred the French Silver Medal for Merit and Devotion.

At Jiang's book launch, artist and art critic Cheng Dali said that Jiang is not just an ordinary practitioner, but a valiant and unyielding one.

"He is grounded in the field of Chinese painting and pushes the art style forward, constantly exploring the transformation of Chinese paintings and distancing it from tradition," Cheng says.

"It is really unnecessary for him to stress that he is a farmer's son. Upon opening their eyes, a farmer's son can see the blue sky, the clouds, the sheep and oxen. They can experience life in the most straightforward way, and this is the best environment to nurture an artist."

To fulfill a longtime wish to pay back his hometown, in 2016, Jiang began building his own gallery in Pingliang. He transported boulders he collected from Beijing to Pingliang, researching and designing the architecture, and using his artworks to barter for ornamental trees.

The pieces exhibited in the gallery are all representative paintings and calligraphy works carefully selected by Jiang. He also donated three additional works to the village as a gesture of gratitude to the local people.

Cheng, who is an old friend of Jiang, says that he is most impressed by Jiang's sincerity, which is also mirrored in his paintings. This, in turn, gives his works the power to move the viewers.

"This kind of power is simple, direct and sensitive. He doesn't overpolish his works or seek to impress. The artistry is accumulated naturally, bit by bit, year after year," Cheng says.

"Everyone faces trials and tribulations in life, but artists can transform these difficulties into content and resources for their creations. Jiang recorded his journey with his paintings and the narration of his life stories provides a testimony, which makes this book collection a valuable account of his life."

Contact the writer at chengyuezhu@chinadaily.com.cn