Prof. Xu Weixin, Deputy Dean of RUC School of Art, exhibited his oil painting works on the Oil Painting Exhibition themed Laborers held by State Museum of Valais, Switzerland on Nov. 13th, 2009. Mr. Dong Jinyi, China ambassador to Switzerland, Mr. Li Keming, Cultural Counselor of China Embassy, Mr. Couchepin, former President of Swiss Confederation, Governor of State of Valais, Mr. Wang Jinsong, Vice-President of Tsinghua University, and over 400 celebrities from all walks of life in Swiss attended the opening ceremony.
Over 30 oil painting works by Prof. Xu Weixin from RUC School of Arts, Prof. Wang Hongjian and Prof. Xin Dongwang from Tsinghua Academy of Arts and Design were displayed on the exhibition. The three artists are representative figures of figurative realism in China and had won numerous domestic prizes. They all paid attention to the bottom of society and depicted the devotion spirit and survival condition of the modern farmers and workers in the context of the rise of China economy. Their works also showed China academic artists’ concern about society and their outstanding artistic achievement. Most of Prof. Xu’s works were the portraits of miners in which modern visual concept are combined with traditional realist technique of oil painting. The strong visual impact of the painting highlighted the profound humanity spirit and social responsibility of the artist.
The exhibition drew extensive attention in Swiss. State Museum of Valais made posters for the exhibition and the works of the three Chinese artists were exhibited in the big cities of Swiss. Swiss Television, Valais Television and several local media reported the exhibition and interviewed the artists.
During the exhibition, the organizer of the exhibition arranged interaction for the artists with the audiences and academic communication in University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland. The exhibition will last until February 2010.
