Artists Village Tour

On Saturday I went on a tour with the Chinese Culture Club to Shangyuan Artists Village. This is a village about 40 minutes outside of Beijing where established artists have built their studios and homes. The community is made up of academic artists who are relatively older, established artists well-known in China and abroad.

The village is not normally on the typical tourist route and is not a public space for everyday visitors. CCC arranges appointments with a handful of famous artists who will allow you into their courtyard homes and studios. I was surprised to see many very attractive modern homes, spacious and with lots of air and light. All of the properties are surrounded by a wall about six feet high. This was a refreshing change from Beijing where all the buildings are high rise apartments or hutongs. The various courtyards contain sculptures, plants, trees and one even had pens of peacocks. We visited seven artists and they were very willing to discuss contemporary Chinese art. Many of the artists also teach at universities in Beijing.

The first artist we visited was Mr. Quan. He is 80 years old and appears to be very healthy and happy. He was always laughing and was very friendly. His courtyard is filled with beautiful sculptures. Then we were led inside to see his beautiful airy and spacious studio. Up the stairs was a gallery with sculptures. Mr. Quan is also noted for his Chinese calligraphy. He gave each of us a book of his calligraphy.




In the house next to Mr. Quan, was an artist who specialized in wooden sculptures. He appeared to be about 45 years old and had been an apprentice to Mr. Quan. His studio was full of wood sculptures that were contemporary but also had touches of folk art. He also teaches in university and keeps all his art in his studio and does not sell it. His was voted the most popular studio by the group.




Our next visit was to see Feng Jiali, a woman artist with a feminist point of view. She tries to bring handicraft into her artistic creations. She also had a big, airy studio displaying several oil paintings on which she was working.



By this time, it was time for a break. We went to a local restaurant at a resort and had a delicious lunch. There were several cold dishes, then some vegetables, a couple of meat dishes, some tofu, and a sizzling stew made with beef. Great stuff washed down with some Chinese beer. Our lunch companions were very interesting and we had a pretty lively conversation comparing our experiences.



Back on the tour, we visited an artist who specialized in "toilet culture". Our guide, Fung, explained how, until recently, the villages all had communal toilets. People would squat in their place and read the newspaper, smoke to cover the odors, and gossip with their neighbors. Some might be there as long as an hour! This artist has tried to depict these scenes in an amusing way that also makes a comment on Chinese culture. It was fun to see the various expressions depicted on the faces of his subjects.



Another sculptor was our next stop. He was not at home but his wife graciously showed us his studio and their home. Much of his worked is displayed throughout their home. This home also had a courtyard with peacocks. One of them proudly displayed his feathers and pranced around showing them off. I was quite thrilled by that as I don't ever recall seeing a live peacock on display.




We went on to see another artist's home. It seems his specialty was photography but he did not have much art on display. His house was fascinating though. It was very big, by Chinese standards, with many bedrooms, sitting porches, a living room, office and had two levels. It also had an enclosed swimming pool (empty now because of winter). The grounds were huge and surrounded the house pretty equally around. He was renovating an old army truck and a communications truck into bedrooms. He had a huge wok in the backyard for outdoor cooking and I'm sure he enjoys his lifestyle very much.





Our last stop was at the studio of an oil painter specializing in abstract art, using oil paint and fabric in his artwork.




The village was very quiet with little traffic but I did get to see some people while walking around. Here you see a classically beautiful Chinese girl, a woman cleaning up leaves, a grandmother and grandchild, and two women exercising in the park. When we came upon the grandmother and grandchild, the baby started to cry but the grandmother told him that we were all mothers and not to be afraid. After that she told him to wave goodbye to the "mothers."






As the day came to a close, I couldn't help but feel extremely privileged to have been allowed a glimpse into these artists lives and to have been received so graciously by them as they showed us their studios and homes and talked to us about their art.