Artist Liu Yaming, famous oil painter

On 15 May 2016 we were invited for a special concert at the studio building of a famous painter, Liu Yaming. The large building functions as a gallery and has workshops, reception areas and a small auditorium. The area is called Qiaozi International Village Arts District, Qiaozi Art Commune. It is located about an hour’s drive north of Beijing, in a mostly rural and mountainous area called Huairou, home to several national parks, nature reserves, and ski resorts. Qiaozi is a small arts community and populated by established artists, architects and filmmakers. Artists like Shen Shaomin (who hosts the 4A residency), and Qu Yan, (who organizes the XuCun residency) live and work there. Several (oil) painters have their studio in the area; the buildings are all pretty big. Not your poor artist corner! See some of the buildings as well as some of the many paintings hanging around in the house.

The artist was born in 1962 in Neijiang in Sichuan province. He is best known for his somber, evocative oil paintings of female figures. Liu’s paintings focus on a single female figure, usually looking straight at the viewer without a smile. This moody, mysterious atmosphere is heightened by the hazy backdrops he paints the women in. In this piece, though he uses multiple colors in the background, the pinks, yellows, and blues are murky and painted in almost nebulous shapes. In contrast to the backgrounds, the subjects are painted in exceptional detail, which contributes to a sense of individuality and personality unique to each piece.
See more: http://www.pixelle.co/liu-yaming/

The location of the concert also has one of his famous paintings, a huge Dante / Inferno kind of somber piece. On the left side, other large paintings.

Zhang Hongyan, an outstanding Chinese pipa performer

The concert focused on the pipa.
The pipa (pronounced “pee-paa”) is a four-stringed lute, one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments with over 2000 years of history. The concert showed several different types. None had the bent neck: all were straight.
The star was Zhang Hongyan, an outstanding Chinese pipa performer, teacher, Professor at the Central Conservatory, supervisor of MA students and member of the Chinese Association for Cultural Development. Zhang Hongyan trained at the University of Columbia in the USA.

Zhang Hongyan graduated from the Central Conservatory and attained her Master’s degree. Zhang Hongyan is one of the finest pipa performers and teachers. Her rich repertoire includes works by many composers. Zhang Hongyan frequently performs at the world’s most prestigious concert halls, in New York, Berlin, Vienna, Washington, Beijing and many other.
See: https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/orchestra/harps/zhang_hongyan/

After the concert we were invited to a buffet, on the rooftop, with a great view on the countryside.