Cao Jianhua - Case Study of an Influential Painter in the 21st Century

Author: Jia Dejiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Cao Jianhua (1959.9—) is from Shaanxi Province. He is skilled in Chinese painting. In 1982, he graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Northwest Normal University. In 1990, he joined the Gansu Art Institute. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate in Fine Arts at the Chinese Academy of Arts, studying under Professor Long Rui. He is a National First-Class Fine Arts Master and a member of the Chinese Artists Association. His works have been selected for the 6th National Fine Arts Exhibition, the 8th National Fine Arts Exhibition, the 9th National Fine Arts Exhibition, the First National Chinese Landscape Painting Exhibition, the China International Fine Arts Year—Contemporary Chinese Landscape Painting and Oil Painting Landscape Exhibition, the 2nd National Chinese Painting Exhibition, the 2003 Chinese Painters Nominated Exhibition, and the Large-Scale Painting Exhibition "Talking About World Heritage" and other exhibitions. His works have been collected by institutions such as the National Museum of China, the Chinese Painting Research Institute, the Shan Art Education Foundation Museum in Taiwan, the China-ROC Cultural and Art Foundation, and the National People's Congress.
It can be said that in terms of technique, Cao Jianhua does not pursue novelty but rather emphasizes the idea of "using the heart to replace brushwork" in the ingenuity and construction of landscape painting. The artist still focuses on the aesthetic expression and expansion of ink and wash painting in a subjective manner. Within balanced and harmonious compositions, he creates a more subjective, formally compelling, and spiritually spacious ink and wash world.