Ink art, reframed approach

Li Jun, a professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, says Qi captured the vigorous moments of those common lives normally seen, while he portrayed them in a manner of careful consideration. "In his work, Qi sought extraordinary qualities from those rather ordinary things and creatures, and he spoke for them, hailing their spirit so that viewers of his works would notice."

To echo the exhibition at the Beijing Fine Art Academy, an exhibition of Qi's art, Grand Aspirations, is being held at Fabbrica del Vapore (Steam Factory Cultural Center) in Milan through Nov 26, with a display of his landscapes, flower-and-bird and figure paintings also from Beijing Fine Art Academy's collection.

Maria Fratelli, director of Fabbrica del Vapore, said at the exhibition opening that Qi never forgot about his cultural traditions, neither did he overlook the trends and needs of his time. The exhibition at her museum is sourced from the depth of traditional Chinese culture, and in a modern space of art, it shows to the Italian audience the scope and poetry of Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Wu Hongliang, director of the Beijing Fine Art Academy, says Qi led a legendary life and was creative and accomplished in art. "The exhibition (in Milan) brings people to Qi's realm of 'discovering the rules of the universe in a flower, a leaf or an insect', feeling his childlike innocence, his care for nature and all lives, and his pursuit of being extraordinary."