The Most Beautiful Country of China: Hong Kong, 2007, 140 x 230cm, Ink & Colour on Silk
The Most Beautiful Country of China: Sail in Clouds above the Sea, 2007, 140 x 230c, Ink & Colour on Silk
The Most Beautiful Counrty of China - Yang Jiechang
29th October to 17th November, 2007
Hanart TZ Gallery
202 Henley Building
5 Queen's Road Central
Tel. +852.2526.9019
Fax. +852.2521.2001
website: http://www.hanart.com/
email: tzchang@hanart.com
You are cordially invited to the opening of
YANG JIECHANG - The Most Beautiful Country of China
Meet the artist on 29th October (Monday) from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Exhibition until 17th November, 2007
“The most beautiful country of China” could be the title of a song, and the phrase actually is borrowed from the title of a folksong, nevertheless a German folksong. According to the song, this most beautiful country in Germany is Baden, a hilly region in the Southwest, in between the rivers Rhein and Neckar, spoilt by the sun, with vineyards, orchards and flourishing smallholding businesses. Having been the scene of many campaigns of conquest and war, of religious campaigns, as well as the home of revolutionaries, philosophers and artists, the region is rich also culturally. When Yang Jiechang arrived in Europe in 1988, he first settled there and still has a home and studio in the area today. Maybe it is because it in some respects reminds him on his homeland Canton and the Pearl River Delta that he feels at home there; and indeed, the above mentioned characteristics would mainly also fit for a description of this Chinese region. The folksong reflects not only the strong feelings of the Baden people to their region, but also German history and reality today, the federalist system with a strong emphasis on culturally and politically autonomous regions.
In June 2007 Yang travelled to Finland and had the opportunity to visit Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s studio together with this great Finnish artist’s family. Gallen-Kallela, who was active in the late 19th and early 20th century, was the first Finnish painter to develop a typical national Finnish style. The landscape, the studio – a typical chalet on a lake – and the oeuvre deeply impressed Yang. Gallen-Kallela’s concern to capture the Finish spirit through representing emblematic subjects and images interested him even more, as it was part of this modern artist’s struggle against the Russianization of Finland. By creating art of a national character he claimed the right of Finland to exist as a nation. He showed the vitality of Finnish culture not only in his work, but also by gathering progressive intellectuals, artists and musicians around him. His studio on the lake was the meeting point for people sharing a utopia that once was to become reality.
Yang Jiechang’s exhibition “The most beautiful country of China” is composed of six paintings executed in traditional Chinese technique. The works are either images of Hong Kong scenic spots or copies of famous paintings, such as Chen Shuren’s “Flowering Kapok”, Gao Jianfu’s “The Five Story Pavilion” or Shi Tao’s “Sail in clouds above the sea”; and there is Yang Jiechang’s PRD Flag that first has been exhibited at the 2nd Canton Triennial in 2005. All of these works are combined with neon light calligraphies repeating the title of the show. Further, all of them show emblematic scenes representing a typical Canton spirit and style. Similar to Gallen-Kallela’s paintings they are testimony of the vitality of a regional culture, here Cantonese culture. The vitality and the relevance of this culture will also be evoked by the meeting of Cantonese artists and intellectuals that Yang Jiechang has arranged for his opening at Hanart in Hong Kong.
Yang Jiechang is well aware that the most beautiful country of China is still a utopia, as tells Shi Tao’s “Sail in clouds above the sea”. It is as Steve Wonder sings: “But what I’d like to know, just could a place like this exist, so beautiful. Or do we have to take our wings and fly away to the vision in our mind?”
Martina Köppel-Yang,
「中國最美麗的國家」這句話聽來像德國民謠歌題，因為的確是借用了一首德國民歌。原曲中「最美麗的土地（國家）」指巴登(Baden)。巴登位處德國西北 部，介萊茵河(Rhein)和萊卡河(Neckar)之間，是一個丘陵起伏的地區，當地的葡萄園、果園和耕地均得著陽光的眷顧而繁茂。此地曾經是不少戰役 的現場，亦是眾多革命者、哲學家和藝術家的家，文化氣息甚濃。楊詰蒼一九八八年初到歐洲時是住在巴登，今天他仍在當地保留居所及工作室，也許是環境上與老 家廣東珠江三角洲有相似之處而特別有感情，而民歌對巴登風貌的描述其實也可以套用於廣東。民謠本身不單反映了巴登居民對家園的強烈愛護之情，亦描述了德國 歷史及現狀，以及強調聯邦制度下文化和政治方面的自治性。
今年六月楊詰蒼旅遊芬蘭時造訪了Akseli Gallen-Kallela的工作室。Gallen-Kallela活躍於十九世紀末及二十世紀初，是首位發展出典型芬蘭繪畫風格的藝術家。楊詰蒼被那 間建於湖畔的小屋工作室以及其創作事業都深受感動。Gallen-Kallela的作品以描述具象徵性的物件及形象來表達芬蘭的精神，同時作為藝術家個人 對抗國家的蘇俄化，通過創作有國家特色的作品來強調芬蘭作為獨立國家的合理性。他集結學者、藝術家和音樂家以展現芬蘭的文化活力，而他的工作室亦是文化人 經常聚會的地方。
<>楊詰蒼展覽「中國最美麗的國家」由六幅以中國傳統水墨技法繪製的作品組成，內容包括香港都市面貌和複製的名畫，計有陳樹人的「紅棉」、高 劍父的「鎭海樓」和石濤的「海上雲帆」。當中「珠三角旗」曾在二零零五年的廣州三年展展出。楊詰蒼以霓虹燈管製作了六件以展題為內容的書法，配合繪畫展 出。作品描繪的景物富於廣東精神和地方風格，呼應了Gallen-Kallela對地區文化的見證。展覽開幕當日，楊詰蒼策劃了一個以廣東藝術家和文化人 為主的文化聚會，共同喚起觀眾對廣東文化活力的意識。
楊詰蒼明白「中國最美麗的國家」仍然是一個烏托邦觀念，正如石濤說的“海上雲帆”，亦如Steve Wonder的歌詞：“… 我但願可以知道，在那裡有這麼美麗的國度存在，或是只能憑藉自己的翅膀去追求一直期盼的景致? …”
