Russia has enjoyed great popularity with its literature, music, movie and fine art in China. Different from other types of art, works of fine arts are not only appreciated by Chinese audience, but also collected and treasured by some of them. In the last 20th years, there is a new expression “Russian art collector” in Chinese art circles, who started to go to Russia to collect artworks after a short break of Chinese and Russian art communications from 1960s to 1980s. Taiwan Mountain Art Foundation started as the first one among those collectors and has the richest collection. After the disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991 and under the introduction of Mr. He Zhengguang, the director and editor in chief of Taiwan Artists magazine, Mr. Lin Mingzhe, the chairman of Taiwan Mountain Art Foundation made a special trip to Beijing to meet me and invite me to help them with the collection of paintings in Russia. At that time, the Mountain Art Foundation was yet to be established and the culture organization that Mr. Lin took charge of was Dragon Art Museum, under which there was a magazine named Dragon Art (It was later renamed as Mountain Art Foundation after Mr. Huang Zhou established Dragon Art Museum in Beijing). Mr. Lin Mingzhe, his assistant Mr. Li Qirong and I went to Moscow to start the project in September 1991. With the disintegration of Soviet Union and dramatic changes with the political conditions, the old orders were broken and the new order were yet to be established, leading that country to great social disorders, economic depression and all complaints. Strangely, the artists never stopped with creation in spite of puzzles and complaints. In the period Soviet Union, all the members of Artist Association could enjoy studios of different sizes distributed by the government. Some honorable artists and people’s artists had studios around 100 square meters, including the lounge and kitchen. They worked day and night. For example, Yablonskaya in Kiev, Ukraine had her studio near Kiev Academy of Fine Arts, 40 minutes bus away from her home. She was near her 70 years old and in poor health, but she still took the bus with her daughter Dayana (who’s a painter too) every morning to the studio for creation and didn’t go home till 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Their loyalty to art is really admirable and respectable.
During 1992 to 1994, we went to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kiev for many times. Thanks to our Russian friends Anna Vinodgeradawa (researcher in Art Research Center from Russian Fine Arts Institute), Nina Varminskaya (professor in Art Theory Department from Repin Academy of Fine Arts), Lioda Mohawa (senior staff from St. Petersburg Artists Association) and the young female artist Yinina Vallinsikaya, our collection went on pleasantly and smoothly there in spite of some troubles and difficulties. I reviewed the history of art I studied before in running among the studios, cultivated and deepened the friendship with the Russian people, and witnessed their kindness to Chinese people and their interest in traditional Chinese culture and art. What was especially touching was that Yablonskaya recited poems of Li Bai and Du Fu in Russian to us, Gritsai had been having the copy of Qi Baishi’s flower-bird painting hung on his studio to enjoy and Maksimov was very concerned about his old friends Wu Zuoren and Li Keran and his Chinese students.
It should be said that Mr. Lin Mingzhe was very prompt and courageous to make the decision to collect Russian paintings not only from the angle of art investment, but only out of the research and appreciation of art history. No matter in mainland China or in Taiwan, there should be Russian artworks for Chinese artists and audience to enjoy and for Chinese researchers to study. The most important thing for an art collector is his distinct art concept and aesthetic taste. Mr. Lin Mingzhe and Mr. Li Qirong are with vision, good taste in art and with open mind. They think highly of the realistic characteristics and techniques of Russian artists and also appreciate the explorative spirit and innovative atmosphere in Russian art community. The artworks that they collect could fully demonstrate their connoisseurship. For example, they have the artworks of Ioganson, Milnikov, Yablonskaya, Korzev, Gritsai, Tkachov Brothers, Salakhov, Ivanov, Maksimov, all of whom are masters leading in Russian art movement in middle and late 20th century. None of the artworks are created out of reluctance or too commercial, but delicate creation.
Mr. Lin Mingzhe also collected artworks of the famous artists in 19th century including Repin, Levitan, Petrov-Vodkin and famous Western European artists from auctions in the USA and Europe. Without exaggeration we could claim that Mountain Art Foundation is second to none in Asia with regards to collections of modern Russian paintings.
My wife Xi Jingzhi and I made our efforts in categorizing, studying, exhibiting and popularizing these collections. Mr. Frank Lin, in charge of Frank Lin Art Center in Beijing, also carries his father, Mr. Lin Mingzhe’s causes with practical and arduous work. Looking back the time when collecting these Russian paintings, Mr. Lin Mingzhe considers it one of the most important events in his life. He is delighted that through his collections, Chinese audience could enjoy themselves with aesthetic nurture and education.
On the occasion of “Land of Fertility–Mountain Art Foundation's Russian Masters Collection” having tour shows in cities of China, I present this article to introduce the process of collecting the artworks and give my congratulations!
By China Central Academy of Fine Art Professor, Shao Dazhen |
