Five Nights amid Rivers and Mountains — JI Dachun Solo Exhibition

JI Dachun was born in 1968 in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, and graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1993. From the very beginning, painting has been his sole focus of exploration and practice. His signature works often feature expansive blank spaces, with the main subject rendered at a minimized scale in the center, echoing the figures in traditional Chinese landscape paintings, where human presence is dwarfed by vast mountains and rivers. JI translates this sensibility into Western painting logic to infuse his works with wit and humor that reflect on “postmodern” contradictions through seemingly childlike forms. By blending the refined atmosphere of Chinese literati painting, he has developed a distinctive personal style. The 2009 piece Alexandre Dumas, on display in this exhibition, exemplifies this style. 

As a practitioner devoted to painting, I have spent many years exploring and experimenting, while cultivating a deep fascination with distinctive fragments of art history.

JI Dachun, a pivotal figure in contemporary Chinese art, is staging a solo exhibition at Eslite Gallery for the first time, presenting a total of 31 paintings. The exhibition features his earlier acclaimed “white space” pieces alongside creations in Berlin following his move from Beijing, tracing the evolution of his artistic vision over the past two decades. From figurative portrayals to abstract explorations, JI’s works reflect a deep contemplation and engagement with both Eastern and Western art traditions. He draws inspiration by dialoguing with the classics, studying them deeply, and allowing these conversations to inform his creative process. 

Having long immersed myself in Chinese paintings of the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties and in European classical art, especially from Italy and the Netherlands, as well as in modern originals, my greatest wish is to witness how these separate influences converge. I hope to form a lasting bond with the outcomes, sustained by continual perusal, reflection, and dialogue that deepen my understanding. 

Unlike many artists who primarily work in oil, JI recognized early on that each medium has its own unique qualities. After extensive experimentation, he moved away from oils and began exploring the possibilities of acrylics. Acrylic paint offers high malleability, producing a texture that balances transparency and semi-transparency while conveying a captivating sense of ambiguity and uncertainty. This quality resonates with the Eastern inner pursuit of elegance, Zen, and ethereal artistic conception. These characteristics are fully realized in JI’s Mont Sainte-Victoire and Fuchun Mountains series.

The true essence of painting has never rested in technique. What often appears in art history as a study of skill is, at its core, an inquiry into the very nature of painting itself. 

Now in my fifties, I still carry the same passion and innocence for art and painting as when I first began. I aspire to seek my answers in a free country with independent perspectives, to keep exploring, practicing, and embracing new possibilities in painting.