I discovered the exquisite world of Jia Juan Li's oil paintings while browsing a friend's photo albums, and was instantly attracted to the gorgeous, soft yet sensual colours, the cloud-like, dreamy textures, and most importantly, the poetic allusions to Chinese literature and history with which she creates her unique artistic vision and conveys understanding (as well as appreciation) of her own culture and heritage.
A lot of her paintings remind me of the great Chinese classical novel, Dream of the Red Chamber; whilst other 'portraiture' of Qing Dynasty princesses and female aristocrats emanates simultaneously a sense of innocence and certain effulgence of feminine authority. Her artworks are elegant, poetic, and they enchant the viewer with a subtle mystique, something perhaps a little darker, sinister even, underneath the pastel-hued dreamscapes, hidden behind the half-open screens or at the bottom of the deep blue pond, lit only by the reflection of moonbeam. Quiescence of those stories from thousands of years past.
A lot of her paintings remind me of the great Chinese classical novel, Dream of the Red Chamber; whilst other 'portraiture' of Qing Dynasty princesses and female aristocrats emanates simultaneously a sense of innocence and certain effulgence of feminine authority. Her artworks are elegant, poetic, and they enchant the viewer with a subtle mystique, something perhaps a little darker, sinister even, underneath the pastel-hued dreamscapes, hidden behind the half-open screens or at the bottom of the deep blue pond, lit only by the reflection of moonbeam. Quiescence of those stories from thousands of years past.
Jardin
Fleurs
Éventail
Fan Fan
Princess Wang
Jia Juan Li was born in Hangzhou in 1960, and is currently based in Paris, France. Since 1998, Jia has been a member of La Maison des Artistes en France (The French Artists Association). Praised as one of the most renowned and important Chinese female artists in the world, Jia is highly acclaimed both in Asia and internationally. She is famous for using her virtuosic western oil painting technique to depict scenes of dream-like elegance inspired by Chinese history and culture.
(Biography information taken from The Marigold Gallery.)
1 comment:
I love the soft colours and dreamy textures of her works too.
Reading your blogs always make me want to know more about Chinese culture, art, history etc.
Feels rather close to Japan compared to Western countries, yet so different.
Post a Comment