Originally published in Art Observation (2000/1) and Rongbaozhai (2000/1)

　　Zhang Yinchuan: It is known that you have been quite influential in the art circle since the 1950s, but we have heard little about you. In recent days, many people in the art circle and I have been quite inspired and excited about your newly published painting collection. We share a same view that you have reached a peak in your painting style. However, we are wondering why your works have been seldom displayed in important national exhibitions for a long time and we could also hardly find you in some big events of the art circle.

　　Du Yongqiao: Well, it relates to my early experiences. My father was an intellectual exiled to the countryside, and I was born there. My childhood was soaking up in nature, with classical Chinese poems read by my father. All these shaped my life style—simple, unsophisticated, quiet, peaceful and secluded. I love painting solely out of my innate affection, and I care little about other things apart from painting, such as participating in exhibitions or winning prizes. I think the fact that my painting has some influence on the art circle is a result of the public recognition of my long-time pursuit for painting language rather than any exhibition or prize-winning. Although some of my works have won awards or been collected in museums such as the National Art Museum of China, most of the collected or awarded ones do not represent my painting style. On the contrary, those that really can are not likely to be taken seriously in the slightest. Nevertheless, my fellow painters appreciate them in private so much that even after decades they still remember those works that have never come into the sight of the public. In the early 1990s, I lived a reclusive life on the top of a mountain for around four years. Not concerning about any secular things, I engrossed myself in my painting. Having completed nearly 100 pieces of works, I accomplished new breakthroughs. In 1997, some of these works were displayed in my individual exhibitions in Chongqing and Chengdu (the only two national individual exhibitions of mine), and my fellows painters’ encouragement kept me more confident.

　　Zhang: I went to your exhibition in Chengdu and also attended the symposium. The exhibition was sensational. Painters sincerely admire and appreciate your works, but your marginal state in the Chinese oil painting realm still remains and is somewhat typical and representative. In this connection, we have to reckon on a historical issue, that is, the Chinese oil painting circle has, for a long time, never offered a fair evaluation and an appropriate status to some outstanding artists such as Wu Dayu and Yan Wenliang who have made great achievements and tremendous contributions but have always suffered indifferent treatment. I think the independence of art aesthetics has never experienced adequate acknowledgement and attention in China. Do you agree?

　　Du: Yes, I agree. And I think in any social and cultural context, an artist must have his own clear judgment, and should not follow others blindly to believe the so-called art history. Some certain characters, like Xu Beihong, should be indeed given more pages in art history as art educators; but they are no pure artists, leaving little that has the reference merit for later generations in terms of painting language, a far cry from those artists you have just mentioned. The status of the painters of that generation is sometimes inverted in the art history. The problem of Chinese culture being involved too much in politics could not be changed thoroughly for a long time to come. What’s worse, the current problem turns to be more complicated, as in addition to politics, it also involves business. And furthermore, some critics only spread nonsense and fancy stories, making the art world seemingly lively but actually blundering. Such critics boast and flatter each other, making the fine arts world in chaos. Against such backdrop, the most precious part of an artist, I think, lies in his clear judgment of himself and his time as well as his absolutely honest attitude towards the art he is engaged in instead of believing and reveling in temporary glories and achievements. Lots of examples tell us that a right judgment takes a long time of thinking in a calm way, to achieve.

　　Zhang: Well, you have just mentioned some sensitive topics in the art circle. Since 1980s, quite a number of critics have been engaged in various art activities with their own opinions and theories. But I feel most painters resent the so-called “theory- oriented” of the critics, and what do you think about it?

　　Du: At present, we really have some honest critics who dare to express their own insightful views, injecting vigor and fresh air into the circle. But on the other hand, there still exist certain abnormal phenomena. For instance, some people have no knowledge of painting at all but attempt to be theoretical guides of painters. They can only talk about nonsense and impractical theories and turn to cronyism to raise their own status. The louder they make their voice heard, the more confused the current painting realm becomes, so that people become unable to tell what is right and what is wrong. At the same time, some art theoreticians who have a deep understanding of painting would not like to rectify the situation and only immerse themselves in academics. Thus under such circumstances, I think we need both connoisseurs with penetrating judgment and a heart for art to undertake the cause of art criticism, and corresponding authoritative publications with clear positioning as well as certain academic standards to conduct precise communication.

　　Zhang: I have another touchy question to ask: How is your art related to the post-modern art trend in China today?

　　Du: I have never been interested in any art trend, let alone the post-modern art that has nothing to do with me. I enjoy the works of some modern and contemporary painters and also welcome innovators only on the premise that a painting must be for the sake of painting. Admittedly, the rebellion and revolution in the current art trend, in a sense, are of some social significance and cultural value. But without painting language itself, they can neither be called paintings, nor art. I always believe that the fundamental mission of a painter is to study and contribute to painting language. The significance of impressionism lies in the breakthrough it makes in the form of painting language, rather than what the impressionists draw, such as ponds, lawns, dancers or a pair of stinking shoes painted by Vincent van Gogh. A universal problem is indeed facing the current painting circle, that is, many painters talk too much and do too little, and they are good for nothing. Such is the remark of Balthus (Count Balthasar Klossowski de Rola).

　　Zhang: Personally, as an art critic, I think the art criterion at the end of the 20th century is no longer a matter of being revolutionary or innovative. Once an artist gives full play to his own distinct language and develops it to the point where his art form could not be replaced yet is able to communicate with other art forms in the plural landscape, his art is worth existing. Many people say your painting is the best of its kind and you are already beyond reach in China in this regard. Then what do you say?

　　Du: I have heard much of this, especially in recent years. The praise of my fellow painters seems for me, as a painter, more encouraging than that from the critics. Over the years, wherever I go, north or south, I always come across some fellows, who I have never met and have been collecting my published painting works, think my art had quite an influence on them. I am gratified that in any political and cultural environment, I have never lacked art friends although I am always on the margin of the painting world. However, I never think my art is perfect, because in most of my lifetime, almost every piece of my painting works has left me a slight feeling of regret. I, therefore, think I still have a long way to go.

　　Zhang: I find that you have made substantial progress in your newly-published collection of paintings in comparison with the one published in Taiwan in 1980s— more expressive, lively and coherent. And what makes your oil paintings different from the western ones is your liberal style and the freehand brushwork used in the Chinese painting in traditional Chinese painting. So have you figured out your own unique painting style?

　　Du: Back then, I didn’t figure it out. When I just set foot in painting, I only longed to be conversant with the language form of the western painting, especially the distinct presentation of light and color in impressionism by which I was quite captivated. And I also learnt to present light and color in a strict and rigorous way from the Russian Peredvizhniki (also known as The Itinerants). It was a long and hard time for me. During that time, I devoted myself to the study of color, but had just a few obscure ideas about how to paint. As I was increasingly obsessed with the liberal style and freehand brushwork in traditional Chinese painting, I spent a lot of time on the works of Wu Changshuo, Huang Binhong, Qi Baishi, Chen Zizhuang, etc., which has finally left its shadows in my oil paintings. I put stress on the rhythm and spirit of brushwork and replaced the single approach of western oil paintings with free and changing ones. Developing the painting style to its fullest in the 1990s, I strived to give full play to an independent aesthetic taste in my brushwork, akin to the spirit mirrored in traditional Chinese paintings. Besides, considerably influenced by Huang Binhong, I also emphasize the abstract element in the realistic and rigorous painting atmosphere, which means however precise and strict the whole structure of a work is, a shed of abstraction can be revealed in part by the interweaving of color and brushwork. However, a major premise always exists in all these—I have all the time kept the language feature of oil painting, which just refers to what people often say about my works—the “flavor of oil painting”.

　　Zhang: A prevalent trend in the current oil painting circle in China is painters’ pursuit of Chinese style or the nationalization of oil painting. Does it coincide with your view on art?

　　Du: I have neither noticed such works, nor do I know much about their particular views and painting methods. I think we shouldn’t overstress the Chinese style and nationalization in oil painting, as art is sure to be there for all mankind. Moreover, the idea actually prevailed in the 1950s, but it ended up with failure. Because the blending of the two different languages of western and eastern paintings is not simply a matter of concept or a possible result of the superficial and crude grafting. It is an integrated expression form shaped by a long time of exploration and practice and on the basis of a thorough understanding of the two categories of painting.

Rearranged by Zhao Qing