LV Yanjun

Words from Lu Yanjun

Painting is a joyful thing to do – when things are on your way, you ride on the tide, ideas springing out, you feel like reading a smooth and beautiful poem. Art could also be painful – when ideas lost in wildness, expectations cannot be met, you get annoyed and close to the verge of nerve breakdown. Art will have to find itself and convince the existence from constant confusion, frustration, grievance and raging, and joy can never be easily granted. Therefore, it is important to stay humble, to realize that not every piece of artwork can be satisfactory even by your own standard.

In general, painting is a process of expressing personal feelings and past experiences in pursuit of creativity and freshness. 

My ‘The Show: Under Cap” series came from a conception that women are beautiful humans and they are all aspired for prettiness. Being confined in army uniform could not hide or diminish such aspiration. I was trying to create a visual effect that can express the tenderness, the grace, the glamour, and the hidden sexuality of these young women wrapped up in army uniforms, which symbolize discipline, depression and maybe sacred duty. The monochrome approach was intended to create a holy atmosphere while highlighting certain vigorous spots. From a technically point of view, there is still along way to go in this direction. I ma determined to bring this series to a new boundary of perfection through constant practice in the future.

Art is like a maze where perhaps many routes toward a bright exit some are short and others are endless. As an artist, it is important to be content with a lonely pursuit, and walk on with determination.

Lu Yanjin, October 2009 Beijing