Featured Artist: Mr. Her Xue-Sheng

Mr. Her (Photo Credit - Laurie Hicks, University of Maine )

For those desiring to experience an international haven of experimental artistic creations, Song Zhuang is the village to explore. The second week of this summer’s ChinaVine Field School will take place in Song Zhuang, where students will have the opportunity to work and learn alongside local artist, Mr. Her Xue-Sheng.

Once an impoverished farming village, over the last fifteen years Song Zhuang has flourished into a major boomtown for contemporary art with varying styles ranging from academic to the Chinese avant-garde. Many artists have revitalized parts of the village that had diminished into decay; factories that had fallen into disuse have been converted into vibrant creative workshops. Most residents are painters, sculptors, calligraphers and photographers, as well as performing artists. Such artists have found the quiet, independent, pastoral, and affordable existence in Song Zhuang to support the aesthetic of their craft. It is here where artists live side by side a fusion of farms and buildings intermingled with fields and orchards. Moreover, Song Zhuang remains a patchwork assortment of the ancient and modern, as well as the pastoral and industrial. Remaining home to more than a thousand artists, the Song Zhuang community further provides an atmosphere that fosters creativity and features what some consider the most innovative and inspiring artwork in China.

Mr. Her came to Beijing in 1993. His home in Song Zhuang also serves as his gallery and studio where he lives, creates and exhibits his work.

In the Studio with Mr. Her (Photo Credit - Tomas Valladares, University of Oregon)

Born in 1963 during the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Her is originally from the Su Pu village in southern Ningxia, a village once considered a powerful kingdom with its own language, writing system, and culture. Mr. Her’s artwork reflects this village of his birth, integrating nature with abstract ideas. With an emphasis on this large and arid region, much of Mr. Her’s work continues to concentrate on the high mountain area of North West China.  This area is comprised of a small grouping of families that take up farming plots near the Yellow River; there is little rain in this area, which is what creates major challenges for farmers.  This theme is incorporated into Mr. Her’s work as many of his paintings include the representing of clouds. These designs are furthermore intended as symbols of hope for rain and the fertility of the land.

Mr. Her defines his work as “tu feng,” folk custom, and applies expressionistic techniques to capture the essence of his native land. When depicting the landscape and architecture, Mr. Her saturates the canvases with warm yellow tones to complement their earthen nature. When portraying the people from the villages, he adorns them with colorful clothing, bright headscarves and, in the case of traditional opera performers, vivid face paint. Whether they are participating in everyday obligations or ceremonial festivities, the people in Mr. Her’s paintings illustrate an uncomplicated lifestyle in which man lived on only the product of the land and their labor.

Painting by Mr. Her (Photo Credit - Laurie Hicks, University of Maine)

Though influenced and inspired by his homeland, Mr. Her also represents the land where he currently resides in Song Zhuang within his work. When first creating a piece, Mr. Her begins his process by venturing out into the villages where he simply sketches scenes. Intrigued villagers and tourists generally gather to witness this first stage of his creation. After sketching the scene, Mr. Her returns home to his studio where he will spend about two hours painting the original raw drawings. Mr. Her works both in oil and acrylic, favoring oil for its origins in Western culture and for its stability and firmness.

Mr. Her works independently without government support and sells his work internationally. In fact, his work is represented in the United States in the White Lotus Gallery in Eugene, Oregon. The Director of the White Lotus Gallery, Dr. Lin Hue-Pin, values Mr. Her’s exploration of various themes in his work, particularly the traditions of his people.

For examples of Mr. Her’s work, please visit his page on the White Lotus Gallery website: http://www.wlotus.com/HerXueSheng/works.htm