(Ecns.cn)--Cui Ruzhuo, whose paintings fetched $54 million at public auctions in 2010, ranks second on the "Hurun Contemporary Art List" (est. 2011). He is the second richest living artist in China.
Cui claims that in the past six decades China hasn't produced any painting masters due to flawed art education ideas.
Though he lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, Cui stuck to traditional figure painting, a skill he inherited from his tutor Li Kuchan (1899-1983), a great master of the traditional Chinese "free-idea" style of painting.
Cui started his own art collection in the U.S. when he happened upon four pieces by Qi Baishi (1864-1957), one of the most well known Chinese painters.
"At that time, very few foreigners realized the value of great Chinese paintings, to I took the opportunity to collect masterpieces and study Chinese traditional painting techniques during my 20 years living abroad," Cui told Nan Fang Daily.
"The more you get to know Western art, the deeper you love Chinese traditional art," said Cui.
Philosophical differences
Cui criticized the reforms launched by Chinese modern artists around Western aesthetics and painting theories. In his opinion, such notions were diverting artists from the "free-idea" style of Chinese traditional culture and philosophy
Despite his personal choice to avoid Western elements in his own painting, Cui praised outstanding Chinese artists who combine Chinese and Western elements in their work.
"However, it's better to separate the two cultures. The idea of reforming Chinese painting is challenging because of its “free-idea” characteristics, which have been nurtured by a different cultural background than Western paintings," Cui stressed.
"To master Chinese painting, you have to learn Chinese philosophy," Cui added.
Flawed education
The other defect haunting China's art world, according to Cui, lies in the country's education, which is advocated by the country's top art institutions and also promotes Western painting techniques.
Cui told a story about an outstanding painter who was quite popular in the 1950s, but whose work declined after he attempted to apply western style sketching to his traditional style of paintings. Such attempts have been the downfall of many talents, he said.
When asked how to learn Chinese painting, Cui quoted Qi Baishi, saying that one must learn from the masters, but not repeat their works.
According to Cui, Chinese painting is always evolving and spiritually transcending, and many masters have learned from and surpassed the previous generations.
We have come to a time when we are realizing the historic value of painting masters and their status in history, said Cui.
"We must also recognize their flaws in painting. Otherwise, we will blindly worship them, lowering standards in the creation of art," he said.
