Majestic Ink Painting by Guan Zhi

Born in 1970, Guan Zhi has learned painting since boyhood and devoted himself full time to ink painting after 20-year social work and accumulation of artistic accomplishment. He quickly found his own brush-and-ink language and is forming his own appearance after he came to the US with an EB-1a visa of extraordinary ability in 2014. He becomes a “Shanshui” (traditional Chinese ink landscape painting) artist with powerful visual impact of ink-using, as well as creates a new style.

• Along one of the directions which is representatively marked by the techniques and styles of scorched ink and Raindrop Texturing Method of Fan Kuan in the Northern Song dynasty, Cloudy Mountains by Mi-family (ink) dots, ink-accumulating of Gong Xian during the late Ming-early Qing dynasties and “Five Methods of Brushwork & Seven Methods of Ink" of Huang Binhong in the 1900s, Guan expands traditional Chinese ink landscape painting “Shanshui” into a new area where the expressiveness of “Bimo” (traditional Chinese painting skill of brush-and-ink) is amplified to the utmost: rocks and water are given a unique and strong texture feeling of cast iron and molten lava, as well as shining with a kind of black light of metal, to form a strong sense of texture contrast with translucent mist. A new pictorial language is created.

• "Texturing Methods" is the most important technique of “Shanshui” mentioned above, it means the stylized stroke ways of using brush and ink to draw the uneven surface and texture (not outline) of mountain or stone, as well as those of tree-trunk in some time. In history there are only 10 masters who really have got the achievements of Texturing Method by originally or typically using a new Texturing Method*. It was almost impossible to invent a new Texturing Method after Wang Meng who died in 1385, except Fu Baoshi had a new one, who had paid the most attention to Texturing Method during the past 600-700 years. Then in 21s, after Li Huayi invents a new language of Texturing Method, Guan also invents a new Texturing Method: Iron-Bone-Texturing(Tie Gu Cun铁骨皴), which means extremely using thick ink and light ink and making the skeleton by scorched ink, to get a kind of texture feeling of steel to present the rock-tendons and stone-bones. (* Dong Yuan 董源, Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms, d. 962, Hemp-Fiber-Texturing(Pi Ma Cun 披麻皴); Fan Kuan 范宽, Northern Song Dynasty, active ca. 1023-1031, Raindrop-Texturing(Yu Dian Cun雨点皴); Guo Xi 郭熙, Northern Song Dynasty, ca. 1001-1090, Cirrus-Cloud-Texturing(Juan Yun Cun 卷云皴); Mi Fu 米芾, Northern Song Dynasty, 1051-1107, Mi-Dot- Texturing(Mi Dian Cun 米点皴); Li Tang 李唐, Southern Song Dynasty, ca. 1050-after 1130, Axe-Chop- Texturing(Fu Pi Cun 斧劈皴), Iiron-Scrape-Texturing(Tie Gua Cun 铁刮皴); Xia Gui 夏圭, Southern Song Dynasty, active early 13th c., Bedraggling-Texturing(Tuo Ni Dai Shui Cun 拖泥带水皴); Zhao Mengfu 赵孟頫, Yuan Dynasty, 1254- 1322, Lotus-Leaf-Texturing(He Ye Cun 荷叶皴); Ni Zan 倪瓒, Yuan Dynasty, 1301-1374, Bent-Ribbon-Texturing(Zhe Dai Cun折带皴); Wang Meng 王蒙, Yuan Dynasty, ca. 1308-1385, Loosened-Rope--Texturing(Jie Suo Cun 解索皴), Ox-Hair-Texturing(Niu Mao Cun 牛毛皴); Fu Baoshi 傅抱石, Republic & People’s Republic, 1904-1965, Bao Shi Cun(抱石皴))

• Guan’s works are majestic and magnificent with great momentum, or profound artistic conception, with thoroughly tempered essence of classical Chinese language for their souls. Indicating the potential level of a new generation of literati paintings or the neoclassical "Shanshui", they are a kind of aesthetics based on literature, as well as a kind of visualization of traditional Chinese literati spirits and characters. “Without any doubt, there will be an entirely new peak in the age of the 21st century appearing in the field of traditional Chinese ink landscape painting ‘Shanshui‘.” (by Hong Huizhen, the famous historian of Chinese painting.)

• 2021: Solo Exhibition of Guan Zhi, Michael Goedhuis Gallery, London, UK
• 2016: “Majestic Clouds & Water”, University of California, Merced Art Gallery, CA, US
• Being invited to give presentation speeches titled “Majestic Ink” and demonstration workshops as a visiting artist at the UC within the quarter of exhibit. 

• 洪慧镇《山水画三美论》，2006年上海“20世纪国际山水画学术研讨会”《二十世纪山水画研究文集》，《文艺研究》2006年第9期。
• 洪惠镇《试论山水“画”法与“写”法的嬗变》，《国画家》1996年第2期。