Ｗｈａｔ Ｉ Ｋｎｏｗ ａｂｏｕｔ Ｗｕ Ｇｕｏｔｉｎｇ

Wu Guoting came to Hangzhou from Nanjing when 100 artists convened in Hangzhou in a program to create paintings on the West Lake. We were very happy to see each other. How time had flown since he left Hangzhou for Nanjing in the 1980s! The reunion was pleasant when we sat down and reminisced.

He was my student in the 1950s when I taught the history of art at Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (the predecessor of China Academy of Art today). A major of woodblock prints， he excelled so brilliantly that he was allowed to skip a year and graduated a year earlier than scheduled. We became colleagues after he became a teacher at the academy.Although we taught different subjects， we became known to each other. In fact， he had the busiest teaching schedule at the academy， teaching 24 classes per week. Despite such a tight workload， he found time to create and published his works in national publications. I am deeply impressed by what he achieved as a teacher and an artist， but I am more impressed by what he refused to do during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). During the chaotic years， the virtuous man adhered to his honesty and principle and protected many students and teachers from atrocities.

Wu sent me a copy of his latest album just the other day. To my surprise， it is a collection of paintings of flowers and birds， a traditional subject in Chinese art. I was surprised because I know he majored in prints， a subject quite different from the subgenre in Chinese art. I understand that he has found a special niche for himself.

Specifically， his close-ups of flowers， rocks， and bamboos are always against wilderness， seeking inspiration from vast nature. Master Li Keran (1907-1989) was impressed by Wu’s creations. The master pointed out that Wu was different from other artists in depicting a spatial charm， which is especially difficult in paintings of flowers and birds. Space， an important feature in Chinese landscape painting， is difficult to handle in paintings of flowers and birds. Wu Guoting has found an innovative way to create impressive space in his description of close-ups of flowers， birds， streams， etc. No doubt， his success results from his pursuit over the past decades.

What I see in Wu’s new paintings is that he has potentials to make further progress. I am confident that he will surely blaze new trails in his tireless pursuit in the new century.#8194;□