Young Chinese painter Mi Qiaoming works on an oil painting. /CGTN
Young Chinese painter Mi Qiaoming earned her fame by creating a series of oil paintings featuring Russian landscapes and figures. As her artistic style and painting techniques matured, she turned to a new field of creation. From the Dunhuang murals to Peking Opera figures, traditional Chinese art became the main subject of her artistic endeavors. She believes that Chinese culture is precious, and it is her ambition to show the world China's long history and profound culture through her oil paintings.
In 2005, Mi attended the St. Petersburg Repin State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Russia.
Photos of Mi Qiaoming when she studied in Russia. /CGTN
To adapt to the high-pressure environment as quickly as possible, Mi devoted herself to creation and sometimes slept only two hours a night.
At one point, she weighed only 35 kilograms.
In 2012, she graduated with excellent grades and decided to return to China.
One of Mi Qiaoming's works is displayed at an exhibition. /CGTN
The decision came after a trip to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. A total of 300 ancient art pieces from Dunhuang were displayed in the prestigious museum. Mi was touched by the precious art relics, which prompted her to start her own creations around Dunhuang.
"It's hard to imagine that these craftsmen, a thousand years ago, turned a small desert oasis town into an art center," said Mi.
Mi Qiaoming visits an exhibition featuring Dunhuang art held in Beijing. /CGTN
There are over 45,000 square meters of murals in Dunhuang from which Mi Qiaoming could draw inspiration. In 2020, she launched the Future Series, which depicted cutting-edge robots traveling through the ancient murals to engage in a spiritual dialogue across ancient and modern times.
A painting of Mi Qiaoming inspired by Dunhuang art. /CGTN
"This is based on a Dunhuang fresco. The Buddha statue is replaced with this robot as if it were listening to the voice above. The robot is also depicted in keeping with the feel of the murals, with the aim of integrating the robot with the murals, and arousing people's imagination," said Mi, introducing one of her works.
Starting with the Dunhuang murals, Mi Qiaoming has also widely absorbed the murals and painting techniques of several other minority ethnic groups into her works.
Mi Qiaoming looks at one of her paintings at an exhibition. /CGTN
Her works have been exhibited in Dubai, Italy and the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Wherever she goes, she is always proud to share that her creative inspiration and concepts derive from the murals left by ancient Chinese painters from thousands of years ago, which also encouraged her to share the story of China with the world through her exquisite oil paintings.