Miao Chong'an is an artist who honed his craft at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts. In his early years, Miao Chong'an studied at the Chinese Painting Department of the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. In the 1960s, he learned from He Tianjian, a master of Chinese painting, at the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy to absorb the essence of traditional Chinese painting. Based on a broad foundation of aesthetic realism, Miao Chong'an injects epic feelings into the traditional Chinese painting style. He also integrates cultural images of the Yellow River, the Great Wall and the mountains and rivers of western China that bear the spirit of Chinese civilization. The language of his work is full of revolutionary romanticism, giving it a distinctive quality.
Miao's contributions to landscape painting can be summarized in two parts: the rediscovery of nature, and the reinterpretation of the relationship between humans and nature. In Miao's work, landscape painting is no longer a symbol of paradise and seclusion, but a metaphor and vessel to convey people's living environment, ideals and sentiments.
This exhibition displays more than one hundred representative works of Miao Chong'an from different periods. Through a deep exploration of these works, it attempts to explore the relationship between Miao's paintings and tradition, time, environment and the spiritual world of the painter. Its design also breaks away from the conventional thinking of typical painting exhibitions, choosing not to categorize the exhibits based on theme or periods in the artist's life. The exhibition regards Miao's paintings as an individual case to explore new ways of communicating with our predecessors. We sincerely hope that these artistic works full of modern aesthetic concern can contribute to the development of modern Chinese art. We also hope a wide audience can gain a deep appreciation for the beauty of China's landscape, art and culture.