RVAB: Works by influential Chinese artist coming to Regional Art Museum
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A collection of prints by the influential Chinese painter Feng Zikai, a pioneer of manhua, will be featured at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum. The exhibition will open June 11.
Zikai, known as the "artist of children" for his paintings depicting children – often his own – was a prolific artist, writer and intellectual who made strides in the fields of music, art, literature, philosophy and translation.
Born in 1989, just after the First Sino-Japanese War, Zikai lived through much of the political and socio-economic turmoil that arose during the birth of modern China. As a child, Zikai was known to steal pigments and dyes from his family's store to color in the woodblock prints in his father's books.
In his education, his parents pushed him to become either a teacher or a man of letters or business, but Zikai was drawn to painting, and though he did become a teacher, it was a teacher in art. After graduating from college, Zikai traveled to Tokyo and devoted his time to learning all he could of Japanese and European art, as well as attempting to learn violin, English, Japanese and Russian. This is also where Zikai discovered manga art – an immersive storytelling through pictures, with less reliance on text and more on using expressive line drawing to create narratives.
Throughout his career as an essayist and illustrator for magazines in China, his artistic work depicted the changing political landscape, such as the horrors of war. The prints in RAM's permanent collection, however, represent his favorite subject: childhood. In this collection, the prints feature imagery of children playing, families going for walks in the countryside, a little girl with a doll, and a child taking first steps.
Long after his death in 1975, Feng’s essays and cartoons are still popular with the Chinese public. His name lives on in the Feng Zikai Chinese Children’s Picture Book Award, established in 2009.
An opening reception for "Selections from the Permanent Collection: Feng Zikai" will be held from 5-7 p.m. on June 24. The exhibition will run through run through Sept. 11.
This column is produced by the River Valley Arts Coalition. To send comments or for more information contact daleana@fsram.org.
ART THIS WEEK:
Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, 1601 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith; 479-784-2787
Chuck Davis – The Wheel: On view through June 5.
Selections from the Permanent Collection – The Eva Rubinstein Portfolio: On view through June 5.
Dr. W.E. Knight Porcelain Gallery: In memory of Dr. Henry Udouj.
Drop-in and Draw: Live model; 10-3 p.m. Thursdays; bring supplies; register at fsram.org/education.
RAM Sketch: Pen and ink series every Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Zoom; register at fsram.org/education or join via Facebook Live.
RAM Saturdays: Register at fsram.org/education.
Visit fsram.org.
Windgate Art & Design, 5210 Kinkead Ave., Fort Smith; 479-788-7290
Permanent collection on view Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Arts on Main, 415 Main St., Van Buren; 479-474-7767
Gallery admission is always free and open to the public; AOM members receive a discount on registration fees.
Art programs for children and adults: Visit art-ed.org for available classes and workshops.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: RVAB: Artwork by influential Chinese artist coming to Regional Art Museum
