Art Exhibition 2018

On June 13th, Dulwich International High School Suzhou held its second summer art exhibition where Seventy-three works were displayed in the gallery. These included not only traditional oil paintings and prints, but also works of graphic design, image processing, and 3D prints. Mr. Liao Jun, Dean of the School of Arts of Soochow University, opened the art exhibition. The event was well attended, with five representatives from media outlets as well as students, teachers and parents enjoying the exhibition.

The Head of Art Department, Donald Short, and the Principal of Dulwich International High School Suzhou Ms. Zhuang co-hosted the art exhibition. Mr. Short first thanked the staff who helped organize the art exhibition, and he especially thanked the cleaning lady, who helped clean lots of art waste, then he said:

“We are very fortunate to have some immensely talented pupils who have been accepting of the rigorous academic approach to the creative process my colleagues and I have instilled in them. The aim at the beginning of the year was for them all to reach their creative potential and I believe that we have achieved that aim. I am also proud to announce that a large number of our Year13 cohort represented in this exhibition have gained places as some of the top art colleges in the US and UK.

Finally, we live in an extraordinary era saturated with images, many of them, particularly in the art world, superficial and trite. Anyone can pick up a pencil, a brush, point a camera but it does not mean that what they produce is art or that they are artists. To be an artist you must be self-critical; you must be disciplined and to quote the great French painter, Eugene Delecroix,‘an artist must exceed the norm,’ and I believe that the work that you see here today does just that.”

Liao Jun, a distinguished guest, said with great emotion; “I've been to many art exhibitions, but this is the first time I have participated in the art exhibition for high school students! This proves that the students’ artistic brain cells are well-trained here. Recently they are catching up with the college graduation season. Many art academies are also conducting graduation exhibitions, and even these works by DHSZ students, even if they are placed in college students' works, are very similar and well-liked."

Among the many works, one piece attracted the attention of the media.

It is an ink painting with perhaps the most traditional Chinese influences in the exhibition. The creator is a graduate student Erina Jiang, born in the year 2000 who recently received an offer from the Department of Architecture of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“I went to England in the summer vacation to see Japan’s ukiyo-e, and I thought that in fact, Chinese culture also has its heritage in Japan. This time the creation is to use different perspectives to create ink paintings. Ink painting is my weekend trip to Suzhou, from the city. The inspiration I got from the right to the left is an architectural development from ancient times to the present. At the same time, China has developed rapidly. I hope to use traditional ink painting to represent the process of industrialization and create a sense of contrast. At the same time, I also incorporate some Western decorative elements to add a touch of style to the work."

Such a remarkable art exhibition is not a one off occurrence. Dulwich has always been unique in the field of art teaching and has achieved very impressive results. Some Art and Design University offers can be seen below: