EXHIBITED :
An Unbroken Line: In Commemoration of Wu Guanzhong, Poly
Art Museum, Beijing, 30 August-6 September 2010

ILLUSTRATED :
An Unbroken Line: In Commemoration of Wu Guanzhong, Poly
Art Museum, Beijing, 2010, color illustrated, pp. 80-81
Art Collection, Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House, Sichuan,2006, color illustrated, p. 8

Mount Huang has long been known as “The Most Magical Mountain in the World.” As Xu Xia Ke said, “Nowhere on Earth could one find a mountain like Mount Huang of Anhui. Being on top of Mount Huang blinds your sight for any other mountains—it is the true pinnacle!” The mountain is steep and magnificent, with strange stones covering the mountain tops, while pines contort in interesting shapes or stand upright and strong. As such, Mount Huang has always been a favorite theme for painters and the literati.

From 1973 onwards, Wu Guanzhong had visited Mount Huang countless times to depict its beauty. He once said, “Mount Huang is the epitome of the beauty of the mountains and rivers in China, while Zhouzhuang captures the beauty of a lake town.” The splendid scenes—the uncanny works of God—on Mount Huang are both charming and intense with Wu Guanzhong’s strokes of ink wash that combine Eastern and Western techniques.

In “Landscape of Mount Huang,” Wu Guanzhong used layers of ink to delineate the striking hills and the pines in dark green—and the brush of vermilion hints at its boundless seductive powers. The steep peak at the edge presents the beauty of nature’s work at its finest. In the center of the splendid mountain is a path made of stone tiles. To the right of the path, there is a verdant forest, and with its contrast against the black, its greenness stands out and glows with vitality, akin to the hues of jade. The mountain path, winding as it is, follows the steepness of the mountain and goes all the way to the pinnacle on the far end, inviting viewers to imagine the bright and clear views along the way. The spots of vermilion and emerald green splatter neatly on and near the slate path, reminiscent of Wu Guanzhong’s ingenuity and the techniques of abstract art. The free sprinkles of ink not only express the artist’s comfort, but also enliven the majestic and serious aura of the mountains and pines.