Through an Open Door: Selections from the Robert A. Hefner III Collection of Contemporary Chinese Oil Paintings - Hardcover

Hefner, Robert A., III; Fan, Dian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1556708203 ISBN 13: 9781556708206

Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang, 1998

Synopsis

Through An Open Door: Selections from the Robert A. Hefner III Collection of Contemporary Chinese Oil Paintings focuses on 54 works representing 32 artists from Hefners' permanent collection. Included are transitional pieces showing the development from Socialist Realism, common to Chinese oil painting from the beginning of the People's Republic through the late 1970s, to what Chinese critics have called Country Realism, prevalent in the 1980s, and on to a neoclassical style by which many of these artists have become identified over the last decade. More recent paintings, reflect an abstract as well as surrealist direction taken by the younger generation of artists. This collection represents the energy and experimentation of the Chinese artists who took oil painting in a whole new direction during one of the most critical times in their cultural history. Through photographs, and in their own words, we come to understand more about these unique individuals and how they view their past and present in their rapidly changing society.

About this title

From Library Journal:

Along with the new surge of interest in China and its art comes this timely book, capturing the experimental spirit of oil paintings created during the reforms following the Cultural Revolution. The 95 full-color and 35 black-and-white images from the Robert A. Hefner III Collection in Oklahoma City showcase 32 living painters, artists who merged modern aesthetics with ancient tradition through Western techniques. An introduction by Hefner describes the establishment of his collection, and a curator and a Chinese scholar follow with two essays providing background information about the development of Chinese oil painting. Hefner's pioneering efforts to give the Western world a glimpse of contemporary Chinese oils are well illustrated in this important book, which reflects a crucial period of Chinese history. Recommended for public and academic libraries with collections on Asian art.?Lucia S. Chen, NYPL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1556708203
• ISBN 13: 9781556708206
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 140