On March 17, 2020, the government, in cooperation with the president of the republic, stated that Finland is in exceptional circumstances due to the coronavirus situation. People over the age of 70 were obliged to stay away from contact with other people as far as possible (quarantine-equivalent conditions), excluding members of parliament, state administration and municipal trustees.
On March 17, 2020, I started making marker paintings, many of which ended up in this exhibition. At first, I painted daily and posted the work on social media. At the beginning of August, I had painted and published a hundred marker paintings. After that, I painted less often, the last works for the exhibition were completed in May 2022. In the end, I also chose some earlier marker paintings.
I started studying Chinese ink painting 30 years ago at the Beijing Central Art Academy courses in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2000, and then continued in Finland under the guidance of my friends Wu Jingliang and Xiong Zhichun. The Chinese in my work is mainly the use of xuan paper, markers and brushes, not the subjects and not the processing of the subjects. I did not become a Chinese painter.
The relationship of Chinese scholars to the art of painting pleases and amuses me. The scholars wanted to distinguish themselves from the craftsmen practicing painting as a profession by setting their own criteria, which I have tried to follow. Their work is characterized by an air of erudition, respect for precision and clarity, coolness, reserve and naturalness without an obvious
effort to demonstrate skill. Scholars strive to eliminate all factors that would attract, impress the viewer and create admiration.
Painting was “playing with markers” and meditation. The aim of practicing painting, poetry and calligraphy was spiritual development, not the cultivation of skill. “It is not skill that is hard to achieve, but clumsiness”(Su Dong Po, 1036-1101). “Careful planning of a picture before starting to paint is a misunderstanding of the art of painting. An artist who has suddenly had the urge to paint a picture understands the innermost meaning of art. His hands do not tire and his heart does not freeze. Without explaining to himself why he paints, he achieves his purpose”(Zhang Yan Yuan, 8th century).
Chinese painting and calligraphy have common roots. Both are the art of using a brush. The quality of the brush work is a key evaluation basis.
