Artist Shi Qi fuses Representationalism, Abstractionism and Impressionism in Chinese painting

Shi Qi, the director of the Beijing Shi Qi Fine Art Academy, is a contemporary Chinese painter who is both an inheritor of traditional Chinese culture and a pioneer in terms of art innovation.

He created the artistic theory of "Three Styles in One," incorporating Representationalism, Abstractionism, and Impressionism simultaneously in each of his works.

The practice is widely regarded as an innovative way of presenting the artist's thoughts in modern Chinese-style paintings.

The artistic philosophy imbues his works with elements of diversity, passion, bold colors, and a decidedly modern aesthetic.

At first glance, Shi Qi's artworks appear to diverge from traditional Chinese ink painting. However, upon closer viewing, one can perceive the traditional charm within the mysterious and ever-changing lines from his art pieces.

For Shi Qi, who is also a researcher at the China National Academy of Painting, tradition and innovation are like weights at the ends of a balance scale.

Like every generation of Chinese painters, he has spent years weighing and pondering on paper, striving to create a contemporary form of Chinese painting built on the foundation of tradition.

This has been a long process, from learning various techniques from scratch to reshaping himself as an artist.

"I started to be interested in painting at the age of three. I won the first prize in a fourth-grade art competition, and my classmates called me a little painter," recalled Shi Qi during an interview with CGTN.

"At that time, I thought I would definitely become a painter in the future."

In the late 1950s, at the age of 18, Shi Qi pursued his dream of becoming a painter by enrolling at the Xiamen Academy of Arts and Design.

"I studied applied arts and crafts: making patterns, shapes, artistic fonts, and decoration. I also learned some basic painting skills: oil painting, traditional Chinese painting, watercolor painting, gouache painting, and sculpture," Shi said as he looked back at his academic experience.

Although his college education covered a multitude of subjects, he recognized that his artistic pursuits transcended the knowledge acquired from his academic studies.

"I always felt that the things I learned at school were not of much use. I regretted wasting my time on those things," said Shi.

After graduation, Shi Qi went to Beijing.

In China's capital, also the country’s cultural hub, he eagerly learned art in his own way.

"I would say the 1960s were my era of imitation. I went to the Forbidden City (The Palace Museum) to imitate paintings every week," Shi said.

During that period, with limited available information, Shi could only hone his painting skills by imitating the original masterpieces exhibited in the centuries-old palace.

Through diligent effort, he imitated ancient masterpieces, gradually gaining a nuanced understanding of the distinctive features inherent in traditional Chinese paintings.

Shi explained that "the use of brushstrokes and ink is essential in Chinese painting. Landscape painting emphasizes atmosphere and cultural essence. Figure painting requires spirit, a good posture, and verisimilitude. Flower and bird painting emphasizes beauty, brushstrokes, and vividness."

"I've been paying great attention to strokes and the use of ink," added Shi.

Meanwhile, he also made constant endeavors to study Western works.   

"I also imitated Western oil paintings, from Miró, Picasso, to Mondrian. I imitated as much as possible, whatever was good. I spent 20 years doing that."

The imitation of Western paintings sparked innovative ideas in his artistic creations, blending them with traditional Chinese painting techniques.

All his innovative inspirations have been reflected in the decades of artistic creations, many of them on display at the Beijing-based Shi Qi Art Museum.

However, these artworks also pay witness to his confusion and frustration, as he embarked on the path of innovation while recording his gradual transformation.

Of them, the piece, "Everyone is in Happiness" made Shi Qi known to the wider public.

Created in 1979, it depicts the Dai ethnic group's Water-Splashing Festival.

"My style in the 1970s was basically traditional, featuring either meticulous or freehand styles," said Shi. However, to push the boundaries of his creation, he "deconstructed them and then recombined them."

Shi decoded his painting style in this piece: "Take a look at this man's hand. He's splashing water and the hand is constantly moving, so it's blurred. I couldn’t draw the muscles and the skeleton, otherwise it would look rigid."

"I broke the original outlining method. This cannot be found in our traditional painting. It’s where sketching comes in," he explained.

This work broke the normal composition patterns of Chinese figure paintings. With the structure, use of light, and colors boldly liberated from traditional styles, this painting won the Silver Award at the 30th National Art Exhibition.

However, despite being quite widely acclaimed at that time, Shi Qi still felt a deep sense of confusion within himself.

"I wasn’t satisfied with myself because I'm very ambitious. I may seem like I'm pretty easygoing, but actually I'm quite driven," he said.

He continually embarked on the journey of seeking innovation, despite the changes that lay ahead of him.

In the 1980s, as China’s reform and opening-up policy was progressing vigorously, there was more fusion between the Chinese art field and Western modernist art forms, leading to new perspectives.

And Shi Qi's artistic experiments had also begun.

To better fuel his artistic endeavors, Shi delved into both Chinese and Western art to draw more inspiration.

"Our Eastern sculptures, ancient sculptures, in particular, are excellent. The West has many outstanding sculptures as well. So, I was thinking about how these two cultures could guide me moving forward." This idea drove Shi to continue his artistic innovation in a much bolder way.

A peacock-themed piece is a representative work of 86 art pieces Shi created in the 1980s. It incorporates various painting skills such as freehand brushwork, meticulous detailing, and abstraction.

Although he may not have been remarkably prolific during that decade, Shi still cherishes his creations from that period.

In the course of completing those 86 paintings, he found his own way.

"They are different from the works of our ancestors, different from others, and different from my own past too," Shi commented.

For Shi, his artwork "Farewell My Concubine" marks a significant milestone in his art career. He believed the painting showed a bit of his own style.

"This painting is somewhere between traditional and innovative, leaning towards tradition but already beginning to change."

When such heavy hues and novel expressions emerged in Chinese painting, it posed a great challenge to tradition.

For quite a period, many didn’t agree with Shi Qi’s innovations, deeming them too bold. Meanwhile, the artist himself was also dissatisfied with his works.

Amid this confusion, a visit to a pond in Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province took him in a new direction.

The images of the enchanting scene at the pond persisted clearly in his mind.

"The color of the water in the pond was black, and the moonlight was shining on it. The reflection in the water looks like the moon has come down. It was clearly reflected in the water, but a slight breeze disturbed the reflection, making it look like the moon, and yet at the same time, not the moon," he recalled.

"The water was dark and the rippling effect looked like black lines. Abstractionism, Representationalism and Impressionism are incorporated into one. The scene represented the unity of all three," said Shi.

This scene inspired the forming of his artistic practice of "Three Styles in One."

Once his artistic practice finally began to crystallize, Shi Qi felt a profound sense of clarity.

He discovered that the concept of "Three Styles in One" could be applied to various art forms.

From that point forward, all of his works had a solid foundation to rely on.

To forge a new style that was different from both ancient and contemporary artists, as well as from his former self, was Shi Qi's artistic goal.

His innovations, some of which might appear whimsical when viewed through a traditional lens, mostly remain deeply rooted in heritage. They aim to expand the language of Chinese painting while trailblazing a distinctive artistic form.