Recommendation

KYUNG-SUNG, LEE / Art Critic

For a long time it was hard to have a true grip of the status of the modern Chinese fine art because of the severed diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. However, thanks to the efforts of the E-LAND GROUP’s Cultural Division, a tightly closed door was opened and the art from the mainland was duly introduced to the Korean people.

Even prior the the Jiang Bao Lin show the E.LAND GROUP hosted exhibitions of other several celebrated Chinese artists.

Jiang Bao Lin, who was born in 1942, is now in his 50’s. He worked his way through to build his art world in some particular ways and now takes the ventral place in the modern Chinese painting. His foundations were established by copying the works of other artists. Copying is creating a replica of the painting done by someone else, so it certainly cannot be seen as a creation. It was probably the most wise for him to imitate old paintings during his formative years for his own sake. In 1964 he created the copies of the masterpieces from the Five Northern Song Period and painted Dong Yuan’s especially twice. On the following year he copied the works of Li Tang and Guo Xi. His imitation spanned many past great arts including Ju Ran’s.

Aling with his study or reproduction of the Chinese classics, another important stimulus for Jiang Bao Lin was the Impressionist paintings contained in the painting book published in Japan, which he borrowed in 1971. Monet’s and Gogh’s works had a crucial impact on the future direction of his life as an artist. Gogh’s paintings, in particular, which use lines as a central brushing technique, was powerful inspiration for a traditional brush and ink painting Jiang Bao Lin’s personally sought. Here occurred the encounter of the Orient and the Occident, the Jiang Bao Lin’s first introduction to Gogh. Their artistic spirit might have been different, but the essence they pursued in their paintings could communicate through such a shared painting method.

Anoㅅher turning point in Jiang Bao Lin’s life was the meeting with Li Ke Ran. Form Li Ke Ran, Jiang Bao Lin learned the artistry of the techniques such as Ji mò (double brushing over the dried first brushing) and Pō mò (smudging), which later played an important part in the formation of his unique world of art. Moreover, Le K Ran’s lofty spirit awakened Jiang Bao Lin’s dormant soul. All this indicate that Jiang Bao Lin approached art by humbly studying and assimilation others, ultimately developing his own world; that is, he found himself via others.

As shown above, Jiang Bao Lin adopted others for his own evolution, and this is why his works are filled with a variety of historic achievement of art. Most characteristic and original in Jiang Bao Lin’s art, though, is the abstinent structure in his brush and ink landscapes. His brush and ink paintings rarely employ diverse traditional techniques, such as Xuān rǎn(gradation), Pō mò (double brushing over the wet first brushing), and Ji mò, and minimize the coloring to an extreme degree. ?he sought simplicity in composition or arrangement of lines, which is derived from the ancient Chinese brush and ink painting. This ancient brush and ink was used mainly for depicting humans and barely for the landscape, but painter Jiang Bao Lin applied this method exclusively to drawing landscapes. On his brush and ink landscapes, Jiang Bao Lin portrayed the endless fields and mountains, bamboos, cottages and other ordinary subjects. His line brushing techniques were so varied that they acted as a boost in shaping his ‘graphic personality.’ All this contributed to making the brush and ink landscapes a form that best represents Jiang Bao Lin’s art. In fact, nature is molded with massive forms, and these forms are being propped up by lines. If one more thing is added, if any, colors will embellish them. In this case, forms are the most important element of shape and can probably be seen as the kernel of the art. The sense of volume of the form cannot hold in itself. Its real value actually comes from the lines enveloping the form. Therefore, brush and ink landscapes are not to be appreciated with eyes, but to be seen through with mind. Compared to a human, it corresponds to the muscle. Forms are converted into structures, which are them delineated by simple lines in Jiang Bao Lin’s works. This has been seen in the long tradition of the Chinese painting, and is relived today through Jiang Bao Lin’s line brushing.