Wu Guanzhong was born in Yixing, Jiangsu Province in 1919. At first, he studied engineering. Because of a chance to visit Hangzhou Art College, which was presided over by painter Lin Fengmian at that time, he was immediately fascinated by the colorful artistic beauty and made up his mind to switch to art and devote his life. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to Hangzhou Art College. After graduating from college, Wu Guanzhong earned a tuition fee for studying in France in 1946, when New China was founded, so he resolutely returned to China to teach at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and later became a professor at the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts. He aims to combine Chinese and Western arts and push China painting art to the world. His spirit can be summed up in the title of one of his books, that is, "Art is not fatal".
most of Wu Guanzhong's earliest paintings are based on water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, and the pictures are full of poetry. He pays special attention to the combination and collocation of points, lines and surfaces. In recent years, his painting style has changed, and thick lines are often used in a number of works reflecting the Loess Plateau, forming a kind of artistic conception. Recently, he got? quot; The highest honor of French culture and art ".
From March 26th to May 1th, 1992, the British Museum launched an unprecedented exhibition-Wu Guanzhong's solo exhibition, with 44 works, including his oil paintings, ink paintings and sketches created since 197. This exhibition is called "unprecedented" because it is Wu Guanzhong's first solo exhibition in Europe, and it is also the first exhibition held by the British Museum for living painters in China. Therefore, this solo exhibition is not only another breakthrough in Wu Guanzhong's painting career, but also means the forward development of artistic exchanges between East and West. Wu Guanzhong said that my painting shows the advantages of western painting in Chinese painting. I draw points and lines, and each stroke includes a decent structural relationship. The dots and lines in the painting, whether big or small, long or short, are strictly used, and they are not casually put up. Sometimes there can be no more or less, and too many ideas don't help the picture, so I try to cover them up. The same is true for the length of the line, which is not drawn casually, but just right.
from 195s to 197s, Wu Guanzhong devoted himself to the creation of oil painting landscapes and explored the nationalization of oil painting. He tried to combine the intuitive vividness of European oil painting depicting nature, the richness and delicacy of oil painting colors with China's traditional artistic spirit and aesthetic ideal. He is good at expressing the scenery of water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, such as the new green in early spring, the thin mist, the cottages by the water, the white walls with black tiles, the harmonious and fresh colors, and the quiet and beautiful realm, which makes the picture have a lyric appeal.
Since the 197s, Wu Guanzhong has gradually taken part in the creation of Chinese paintings. He tried to use China's traditional materials and tools to express the modern spirit, and explored the innovation of Chinese painting. His ink painting is novel in conception and unique in composition, and he is good at expressing poetic meaning through the interweaving of points, lines and surfaces. He likes concise objects and expresses the musical rhythm of nature and corresponding psychological feelings in a semi-abstract form. It is not only rich in oriental traditional interest, but also has the characteristics of the times, which makes the viewer feel refreshed.
As an art educator, Wu Guanzhong pays attention to the cultivation of students' artistic personality. As a thoughtful artist, he is diligent in writing, with unique arguments and vivid and fluent words. Among them, the views on abstract beauty, formal beauty, form determines content, and life and art should be like a kite, which have caused controversy in the art world.