2nd Review of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019

'A New Dawn,' Freddy Coello, oil on canvas, 120 x 170 cm

The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale opened at the National Art Museum of China on 26th August 2019 and continued until September 23rd. This is the second part of my review of the Biennale, (as a participating artist), my first review was written on October 8th - please scroll down the page for this.

The theme of the Biennale was 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.'  Much of the artwork was very large due to the minimum size of submitted work being restricted to 100 cm by 100 cm. To make an impact on the huge walls of the Museum the canvases needed to be large to very large. However, with sculptures and ceramics there was much more variety in size, some being quite small. 

As I mentioned in my previous review, there was a huge range of artwork on display, from paintings to sculptures, ceramics, prints and installations. I deeply regretted not having enough time to see everything! For this second review I have chosen a few more artists as examples to give a broad idea of this rich and diverse Biennale.

The painting above 'A New Dawn,' by Freddy Coello, an artist from Ecuador, was painted using one model in different poses. Freddy showed me photos of the model during one of our artist group chats in the foyer of the hotel. It is a very impressive and detailed painting with much attention given to the expressive poses of the model.

Yannis Koutsouradis, an artist from Greece who lives in Holland, writes about his colourful sculpture below:


My memories from the Greek islands are possibly the basis for the inspiration of this work together with reflections, recollections or angels of the Aegean Sea. They found themselves at home in Holland due to the Dutch nature or the endless water parties.
After realising that the ancient Greek sculpture had lost its colouration, I decided to research and apply "colours forever".
I was able to do that during the second period of my studies at the United kingdom. my professor Alan Gouk at the art school which is now called University of the Arts London, as well as my instructor in technique Tony Driver at the Royal College of Art has revealed to me the secrets of paint and colour enamelling on steel. Thus the materials of my work are made of these.
The work is of course realised in the Netherlands - my chosen land, in which I have celebrated recently 30 years of sharing with my native Greece.

Yannis Koutsouradis with his sculpture

Yannis Koutsouradis' sculpture, Para Thin' Alos, glass enamel on metal

Figurative painting was side by side with abstract. This large colourful abstract canvas is by Alon Kedem, an artist from Israel. It impressed me with its colours, different kinds of mark making and shapes.

'Green Light,' Alon Kedem, oil on canvas, 200 x 235 cm

One of the most inspiring aspects of the Beijing Biennale was seeing the different visions of the artists and how there are infinite ways of seeing the world and translating it with all kinds of materials. The breadth of artistic imagination is breath taking at the Biennale every time. It is also interesting to see artwork from so many countries outside one's own.

Stella Mimikou with her artwork

'Colourful Hands; Chain For the Future,' Stella Mimikou, 120 x 120 cm, acrylic

Stella Mimikou, another artist from Greece, was inspired by the lyrics of the Greek poetess Zoi Karelli and her words, 'With hands in extend and balance, an ideal divine line.' 

During my 4 days invitation to Beijing, I tried to meet as many of the over 200 invited artists as possible but there was simply not enough time due to various obligations - attending the Opening ceremony, various trips to the countryside and to see Beijing, and preparing my speech for the international symposium - but mealtimes in the beautiful restaurant gave a wonderful chance to meet up with old friends from previous Biennales and to exchange artist cards with new friends. Thankfully, social media allows for connection once an event is over and we are all back home!

'The Kiss,' Irami Bulimaivale, oil and ink on canvas, 155 x 125 cm

View of the Biennale

I liked the way the sculptures and ceramics were displayed around the huge rooms because they shared equal attention with the work on the walls and there was enough space to be able to walk around each sculpture to see it from all angles. The sculptures ranged from totally abstract to highly detailed and figurative. Again, there was a wide range of materials used.

'Burst,' by Naima Karim, oil on canvas 150 x 120 cm

The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale exhibited 640 artworks from 113 countries with 446 of the artworks being from outside China.  I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to exhibit with such renowned and talented artists and to have had a glimpse in to their creative visions.

Review of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale, 2019, Part One

Elmar Peintner, 'Children's Feet and Ladders,' oil and pencil on canvas

As a painter I always love to write about other artist's work and being a participant in the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale at the National Art Museum of China gave me the chance to see a diverse array of artwork that simply called to be written about!

The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale this year had the largest number of participating countries (113) and the theme was 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.' There is a size requirement of a minimum of 120 cm by 120 cm for paintings, though sculptures were many sizes, and this may be because the walls of the National Art Museum are so large and high that they call for large paintings. Many of the Chinese artists' work is very large indeed! 

In these articles I will be selecting a few artists to write about and also posting general photos of the exhibition. Unfortunately I did not have time to see it all as the large rooms across 3 floors needed a few days to fully explore.

I met the Austrian artist Elmar Peintner in 2015, (painting above) at the 6th Biennale, and since that time I have been a big admirer of his paintings. His large compositions always give an unusual viewpoint and an unexpected interpretation of the Biennale themes. 

The painting above combines powerful empty space (bare canvas), patterns and figuration in a masterly way with great subtlety and sensitivity. It is a painting which invites you to go closer to examine the flow of textures and colours and to marvel at the concept. Elmar's paintings all display such a creative and emotional use of composition and sensitive transitions between colours and shapes. Many times I thought that the medium of his paintings was watercolour because the lightness of touch and quality of the brushwork has the delicateness of watercolour.

He writes about this painting: 'The children's feet in a variety of skin colours represent childhood in a cross-cultural context..'

Elmar Peintner with his painting 'Children's Feet and Ladders.'

A view of the exhibition

Shefali Ranthe, 'My Life is in Your Hands,' oil on canvas

Shefali Ranthe lives in Copenhagen. I first met her at the 7th Beijing International Art Biennale in 2017 when I was impressed by the beautiful colours she uses and her rich imagination.  Her work defies any category being entirely her unique vision of life. It combines inventive figuration and abstraction with vibrant colours and shapes. I love her boldness and the way she pulls abstract shapes of colour through elements of figuration, using both large areas and tiny accents of detail to create movement, and I admire the richness of her paint textures. I feel that she is completely at ease with who she is as an artist and her paintings exude happiness.

Shefali Ranthe with her painting

The Opening Ceremony

Soraya Sikander with her painting 'A Winter Night.'

Soraya Sikander is an artist from Pakistan who currently lives and works in Dubai. She paints large abstracts which have an interest in calligraphic brush work and colour and are often layered with fluid paint. They allow the viewer to make all kinds of associations and to enter their imaginary world. She says:

'At the point of action, at the point of painting, all sorts of other elements come in to play. It is not totally cerebral, it is not planned on a piece of paper and replicated on canvas. My work has the ability to surprise me. It captures the complexity of development.....It is the whole meaning that interests me not just surface development.'

The photo does not give the full beauty of the complex surface and marks or the richness of the colours. In reference to the theme she writes that it is:

'...a  universal common thread shared by men.'

This was a painting which kept inviting me to go back and look and find new meanings and places each time.

'A Winter Night,' and its caption

The Official photo of all the invited artists outside the National Art Museum of China, Beiijing

Aleksandra Suspitsina, 230 x 500 cm, oil on canvas

Liao Qin (China) 'Sharing Wind and Woe in the Same Boat.'

The painting above by one of the Chinese artists was truly amazing. The photo does not do it justice because the colours and details really need to be seen in reality. This artist also spoke at the symposium and I was moved by his humble request for people to critique his work and make further suggestions. It looks perfect to me!

Further works by these artists can be found on their websites.

To be continued with more paintings and also sculptures.