Wuming Painting Collective
The Wuming Painting Collective (also translated as No Name Painting Association or Anonymous Painting Group, simplified Chinese: 无名画会; traditional Chinese: 無名畫會) was a counter-culture Chinese art collective and movement formed in 1959.[1] Based in Beijing, the collective was characterized by its depictions of idyllic landscapes and plein air approach of painting in public parks. The group is considered the first self organized art collective of the Cultural Revolution.[2]
Though the group lacked formal leadership, its founders Zhao Wenliang (b. 1937, Chinese: 赵文量) and Yang Yushu (b.1944, Chinese: 杨雨澍) provided the Wuming with significant guidance and direction.[1]
While the majority of the collective's artwork featured apolitical subject matter (including landscapes and natural scenes), modern artistic commentaries stress the group's lack of support for the Cultural Revolution and independent, clandestine formation as evidence for its reactionary and subversive nature.[3][4] The Wuming focus on idyllic scenery despite the ongoing political turmoil of the time has been labeled "antirealist" by some art historians.[2]
Notable Members
Contemporary Exhibitions
- 2006 "No Name Group Retrospective," TRA Gallery (Gao Minglu), Beijing and Shanghai[5]
- 2013 “Light Before Dawn: Unofficial Chinese Art 1974–1985,” Asia Society, Hong Kong [6]
- 2014 "The Un-Officials | Art Before 85" Boers Li Gallery, Beijing[7]
- 2018 "Crescent: Retrospectives of Zhao Wenliang and Yang Yushu," Beijing Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing
References
- Davide., Quadrio (2012). Negotiating Difference : Chinese contemporary Art in the Global Context. Verlag und Datenbank für Geisteswissenschaften - VDG Weimar. ISBN 9783958994607. OCLC 911246713.
- "Total modernity and the avant-garde in twentieth-century Chinese art". Choice Reviews Online. 49 (3): 49–1251–49–1251. 2011-11-01. doi:10.5860/choice.49-1251. hdl:2027/heb.32153. ISSN 0009-4978.
- rene balcer, The No Name Painting Association, retrieved 2018-12-12
- Aihe, Wang (2009-12-10). "Wuming: an underground art group during the Cultural Revolution". Journal of Modern Chinese History. 3 (2): 183–199. doi:10.1080/17535650903345387. ISSN 1753-5654.
- "The "No Name" Group Retrospective (Beijing) | exhibition | ARTLINKART | Chinese contemporary art database". www.artlinkart.com. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
- ""Light Before Dawn: Unofficial Chinese Art 1974–1985" at Asia Society Hong Kong Center". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
- ""The Un-Officials | Art Before 85" | Art Agenda". Retrieved 2018-12-12.