I'm so excited to tell you about the opening night for
the Contemporary American Realism exhibit at the Beijing World Art
Museum. We were all blown away by the
scale of the presentation, the press core, the ceremony, and the huge crowd. This has certainly been the experience of a
lifetime. I feel so encouraged about the
future of realist American painting when I see such a first-rate exhibition
and the enthusiastic audience that welcomed it. The
Chinese clearly appreciate artwork that is very carefully and patiently
created, showing the very best oil painting techniques and creative development.
A picture says a thousand words, right artists? So, let me tell the story with photos and
captions from the event.
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Walking In: Katie O'Hagan, Noha Valenti, me, and Nanette Fluhr dressed in our best
for the opening. You know I've got a
bottle of champagne!
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Ready for the Ribbon Cutting: This is what you see when you enter the
exhibit.
The large billboard has all the
American artists' faces greeting the viewer.
The ribbons are set for the big ceremony. |
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Paparazzi!: Wow--there were a
lot of cameras! This was only half of
the total press core. We must
have posed
for a thousand pictures. The Chinese
blogosphere was full of news about the show.
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Crowd Control!: Here's the group posing for the press. We are shown with some of the Chinese
artists
from the Chinese Academy of Oil Painting (more about that later). The American
artists
attending the opening are Greg Mortenson, Daniel Sprick, Ron Sherr, Katie O'Hagan,
Paul McCormack,
Patricia Watwood, Tom Valenti, Nanette Fluhr, Max Ginsberg, Michael Klein,
and
Joshua LaRock. |
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A View of
the Museum: Look at that gorgeous
space! Marble floors and columns, very
spacious
hanging, great lighting--we are talkin' fancy! |
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LaRock
Star!: I have to tell you that Joshua
LaRock is the man on fire here. They are
crazy
about his work and I think he strained his fingers signing
autographs. He is pictured here
with our
gracious host, the museum director, Ms. Wang Limei. |
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LaRock fans: Here's the crowd around Josh's paintings. How great is it to see such appreciation
for
awesome American fine art oil painting?! What an inspiration.
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A Tony
Curanaj fan: I'm a huge fan of Tony's
work, and so is this museum-goer snapping
up-close photos of many favorite pieces.
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Many thanks!: Here's our host, Ms. Wang, and our ACOPAL Treasurer,
Mr. Stephen Ling. Hats off
to Stephen
for being an indefatigable host, translator, party arranger, and cruise
director.
By the way, he's also awesome
at Karaoke! |
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Wonder Wall:
Did you notice the background in the last
photo? It's a huge billboard
showing
all the participating artists and studio views. (I couldn't get
the whole display in one shot--this
is just the center section!) |
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OMG,
Jumbotron!: Yep, that is my painting on a
huge video display outside the museum,
where they played a slideshow of highlights of
the show. My heart skipped a few beats when
I saw my oil painting up there. |
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A Gala View: Paul McCormick, Tom Valenti, Greg Mortenson, Michael Klein, and Ron
Sherr
have a celebratory drink on the terrace at sunset. What a spectacular view.
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What a thrill this event has been. We have been shown outstanding hospitality,
and made friends with the dedicated realist artists and fellow fine art oil painting artists at the Chinese
Academy. I think we are all inspired to
get back to our studios and work even harder to create truly excellent and
meaningful artwork. There is nothing
like a good shot of appreciation to make you really want to pull out the stops
in your painting.
Now I will go back to
my studio, get back to work, and know that on the other
side of the world in China, there are individuals who understand and care about
the work I am creating. What an amazing
thing. It has made me realize that you just never know who is seeing and appreciating
your painting. You may be alone in your
studio creating, but if you make the best art you can, then please, please, please have faith that the
audience is out there cheering for you--even on the other side of the world.
--Patricia