Little Thief's Private Paintings

Author: Qian Haiyan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Qian Haiyan's paintings are distinctive and elegant—she started painting in primary school and has a solid foundation. They appear casual yet are actually restrained and self-controlled. However, so far, her works have all been individual pieces. I asked her why, and she said it's simpler that way. She even jokingly defended this in one of her paintings: "Many long stories aren't short because the authors lack skill, just like someone who isn't good at one-on-one fights prefers to engage in gang battles." This book is a collection of Qian Haiyan's paintings. Reading her book, there's one thing that often puzzles me: How can someone so young have such profound insight into human nature and such steady grasp of it? At the same time, she can transform it into charming visual elements, embed them in her words, and give them an almost cruel beauty, as if "having once seen the ocean" leaves behind a sense of loneliness?