Exhibition Overview

The exhibition, “Distant Views: Modern Interpretation of Chinese Landscape”, is hosted by the Ningbo Museum of Art (Ningbo Painting Academy) and curated by young curator Wu Jinjing. Celebrating the NMA’s 20th anniversary, the exhibition is held across both its branches in Laowaitan and Dongqian Lake. Using landscape imagery as a starting point, it fosters a dialogue between modern visuals and the poetic beauty of traditional landscape, exploring the evolution of Chinese landscape representation.

I. Dialogues between Lang Jingshan and Muxi

Lang Jingshan, a pioneer of Eastern photographic aesthetics, deconstructed traditional landscape paradigms through his composite photography techniques in the darkroom. Using scientific methods, he reimagined the spatial poetry of paintings in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Resonating with his approach, the Buddhist monk and painter Muxi of the Southern Song dynasty (the 13^th century), posed the eternal questions about the essence of nature through simple touches and blankness in his Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang. This section reconstructs the inheritance of Chinese landscape through a dialogue between the two artists that crosses time and space. It selected 30 works from Lang Jingshan and placed them juxtaposed to Muxi’s landscape paintings. The exhibition bridges the mechanical nature of photography and the spontaneity of ink paintings, revealing the spiritual translation from brushwork to optics and showcasing the awakening of traditional landscape genes in modern media.

II. Evolving Modern Photography

Contemporary artists use technologies as their brushes to continue writing the story of landscape. This section features works by three award-wining photographers, Shao Dalang, Fu Yongjun, and Ye Wenlong, as well as artists Chi Haibo, Chen Hao, Jiao Jian, Qiu Feng, Tang Haowu, Wu De, Zhang Ruohao, Zhang Yu, Zheng Xiaolin, and Shao Wenhuan. Their works inherit Lang Jingshan’s philosophy while reshaping landscape representations through technologies like aerial drone photography, digital collage, and live images.

III. Contemporary Landscape Ethos Embodied

Artists in this section reinterpret the core philosophy of landscape through diverse media. Ranging from traditional ink paintings and Western sketches to contemporary installations, this section revolves around the classical concept of "spiritual journey through art", offering a visual philosophical reflection on landscape spirit and witnessing the creative transformation of Eastern aesthetics in a global context.