Heilongjiang painters show their original wor...

Newman Huo

VISITORS to Dafen Oil Painting Village in Longgang District can expect to see something more these days. In addition to replicas of oil paintings by masters such as da Vinci, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, or Dali, now you have a chance to see original paintings by aspiring Chinese artists.

A group of four painters from Heilongjiang Province, Jiang Qinbei, Hao Yi, Zhao Rang and Zhao Dechao, are displaying 28 of their original works at the Dianguang Photography and Painting Studio in Dafen Village.

Titled “Black Soil Landscape,” the works feature breathtaking landscapes and unique folk customs from Heilongjiang Province, which is at the northeastern tip of China and known for its fertile black soil, friendly ecology and rich resources.

“It is rare to see such a joint art exhibition with a special theme in Dafen Village today, although an increasing number of galleries in the village have been organizing exhibitions for local original painters and selling their original works since 2007,” said the 57-year-old painter Jiang who has witnessed the rapid development of the painting village.

A native of Shuangyashan City in Heilongjiang Province, Jiang moved to the village in 2003 and is now chairman of the Dafen Artists’ Association. Jiang had lived in Shenyang, Chengdu, Xi’an and Beijing since becoming a freelance professional painter in 1999.

His has two works on display featuring autumn landscapes in the Small Xing’an Mountain and Zhenbao Island (Damansky Island), on the Ussuri River which forms the border between Russia and China in Heilongjiang Province.

Hao, 50, is an artist deeply influenced by Chinese realist painters Ai Xuan and He Duoling and American realist painter Andrew Wyeth.

His 16 paintings feature rural landscapes and folk customs of his hometown of Jixian County in Shuangyashan City, which is known at home and abroad for producing soybeans.

“I grew up in the countryside and was very familiar with rural landscapes and customs, so I can easily express my ideas and feelings through the subjects I’ve chosen in my works,” Hao said.

Hao had been a professional painter at the Jixian County Cultural Center since 1984. He moved to Shenzhen in April this year

Zhao Rang, 52, has four paintings on display featuring forest landscapes in the Great Xing’an Mountain as well as ice and snow landscapes, which can be typically seen in Heilongjiang Province in winter.

A native of Harbin, Zhao is a graduate of the oil painting department of Harbin Normal University.

Visiting professor at the university, 62-year-old painter and poet Zhao Dechao, enjoys presenting lyrical landscapes in northeast China through the traditions of 19th-century Russian realism. His six works feature landscapes and Siberian tigers.

“I like the free air in Shenzhen and I’m planning to stay here as long as I can,” said Zhao who moved here at the beginning of the year.

Dates: Until July 28

Add: Dianguang Photography and Painting Studio, Dafen Oil Painting Village, Longgang District（龙岗区大芬油画村点光摄绘工作室）