Ｂｒｉｎｇｉｎｇ Ｆｒｏｚｅｎ Ｌａｎｄｓｃａｐｅｓ ｔｏ Ｌｉｆｅ–Ｄｏｎｇ Ｊｕｎｑｉ’ｓ Ｉｎｋ－ａｎｄ－Ｗａｓｈ Ａｒｔ

ＢＡＯ　ＷＥＮＱＩＮＧ

DONG Junqis wash paintings capture the beauty and quiet elegance of crystal ice, a unique natural characteristic of northern China. The artist mainly depicts the perennially snow-capped Changbai Mountains. His skillful use of ink-and-wash, and the meticulous layout of his work, owes a clear debt to traditional Chinese landscape painting, as well as expressing Dongs own innovative style.

Born in northeast China, where winter usually drags out for half a year, Dong spent much of his childhood in intimate proximity to ice. Every spring and autumn, he would sketch outdoors, completing paintings based on these quick drawings after returning home. Gradually Dong shaped his own style, blending Chinese tradition with Western painting techniques.

Over the years, Dong has traveled across many famous mountains and rivers, and is constantly inspired by the marvelous landscapes he encounters. But icy scenes in his hometown remain his favorite subject. During four trips to the Changbai Mountains, Dong, with help from friends, was able to live in the Ecological Work-site Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), hiking deep into the areas snow-covered forests every day with the stations researchers.

“Dong Junqis wash paintings of icy landscape are very well laid out. The appropriately allocated ink and use of blank spaces contributes to the works overall sense of harmony. He uses ink boldly, and at the same time, flexibly, successfully presenting an icy world in all its glory,” said Yang Renkai, an authoritative connoisseur of Chinese contemporary calligraphy and painting. “I particularly like his paintings depicting snow and ice. His careful and extendedobservation of nature gives his work a strong visual appeal.”

The 67-year-old painter has created over 70 scrolls, a kilometer in length if they were linked together. The longest of them stretches over 70 meters. In 2004, he was honored with a solo exhibition at Chinas National Art Museum in Beijing. In short, for all their icy contents, Dong Junqis works have warmed the hearts of art lovers across the country.