Shanghai Daily news

Jiang Dahai (above left) and his calligraphy-featured painting (above right).
(Photo: Shanghai Daily)

In the French capital, Jiang Dahai has found he has everything he needs to lead an artist's life -- everything except the traditional love affair, writes Wang Jie.
Paris, where every corner is said to be filled with romance, is every lover's dream land.
However, the dream of finding love didn't come true for Jiang Dahai. The Chinese artist has lived in Paris for 18 years but says he never managed to have a romantic encounter there. ``What Paris gave me was a lonely heart and it also drained me of passion,'' says Jiang, 55. ``But I don't regret my time there as the city gave meaning to my life as an artist.''
Jiang has a solo art exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum as one of the events for the Year of France in China. It is running jointly with the exhibition of priceless Impressionist masterpieces on loan from the Musee d'Orsay -- an opportunity that would be coveted by any artist and especially today in light of the current craze among local residents for Western Impressionist artworks. Clad in a black linen suit, Jiang looks like any ordinary man from southern China -- he's mild and reserved but has an aura of self-pride that he tries to suppress. ``I don't know why they selected me -- perhaps they don't have many candidates like me,'' he jokes. Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, in 1949, Jiang was a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing before leaving for Paris in 1986 where he wanted to further his art studies. ``I belong to a generation of Chinese artists that was strongly influenced by Russian Realism,'' he says.
``At that time, I was very curious to see the other different and original artistic styles of the West.'' Naturally, the man immersed himself in Paris -- in every museum, art gallery and even in its light. ``It wasn't until then that I realized why Impressionism originated in France. It's because the light and shade of the sky alter so beautifully every moment,'' he says. ``Can you believe that sometimes clouds are magically pink?'' The depth of the culture and artistic heritage of France helped Jiang ignore his material distress (sometimes he had to sketch portraits of passers-by on the street to earn a living). Still, he managed to paint landscapes and a series on clouds in his early years in Paris progressing to his latest works -- an abstract series based on Chinese calligraphy.
``That was the influence of living in Paris,'' he explains. ``I can't stand anything unpleasing to the eyes. There are no politics, no violence and no sex in my work. Every brushstroke is in harmony with the complete arrangement.'' Pierre-Jean Remy, president of the organizing committee of the Year of France in China, sees Jiang's canvases as ``an adoration of Balthus, Masaccio and Morandi.''
``A Chinese spirit wafts over Jiang's paintings that is reflected in the clouds as seen by an Impressionistic eye above the River Seine,'' he says. Some calligraphy characters appear obscurely in Jiang's paintings, but the artist is more interested in emphasizing their curving movements than their literal meaning.
``The brushwork and lines in traditional ink-wash paintings are the essence of Chinese culture,'' Jiang says.
``In recent years, I used rice paper to wrap my canvas. I love the texture and tone compatible both in two different media.'' While Jiang admits that his inspiration comes from Chinese tradition, he isn't prepared to come back home right now. ``I know some of my peers have earned big fortune in China and they have luxurious villas and cars,'' he says. ``But strangely enough, material things don't matter so much to me even though it's really tough to lead the life of a painter in Paris.'' Jiang says that the lives of Chinese artists in France make a striking contrast -- some are very rich and some are quite poor. ``But only a few of them are willing to leave there,'' he says. ``That's the magical thing about Paris.''
Today, Jiang is the ``rare animal'' who doesn't care about promoting and selling his works. Unlike other returning artists who are busy meeting gallery owners, curators and collectors around town, Jiang keeps a low profile. ``It's OK for me, as long as I am able to survive because my dream is to live for art,'' he says. Yes, even if sometimes it's a lonely dream which might account for his well-known reputation in the local art community for offering generous hospitality. Jiang is the driver, the tour guide, the translator and the person to call whenever a friend or the friend of a friend goes to Paris.
``Can you believe that every week I go to the airport to pick up someone? Sometimes it's a friend and sometimes it's someone I don't know,'' he says with a smile. However, he seldom uses his social network for self-promotion -- he's just a hospitable man who wants to help his friends. And many of those who presented themselves at Jiang's opening reception received an old friend's greeting. ``I was excited to see them,'' he says. ``Some even suggested that I come back to China and find a girlfriend here. True, it's a pity that I haven't encountered my love in Paris. Perhaps I am too picky and a bit timid. I have expressed some of my emotions on canvas -- a kind of mixed feeling of anticipation, regret and melancholy.''

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