Mi Li

When talking about paintings of the post-70s and post-80s， we are talking about a gushing future！ Just like the social process that changes instantly and the spiritual fate with continuous ups and downs， they surge， agitate and show too many uncertainties. Through dialogue with universe and oneself， the post-70s and post-80 artists gain thriving artistic life. With the nourishment of roots and in the call of rain and dew， it erects still in the wind， being respectful to the earth downward and sensitive to the four seasons externally， stretched the branches and leaves， and blossomed into the gesture of flowers，

The deep soil underground always gives some memorable sentiments. They are the ultimate concern on classical spirit， the literary ideal close to Daoism， and also the never stopped brush-pen and ink inheritance that tracked back to a long time before. They look back again and again during the long journey. Coming into the arms of the “mother”， they are like a bare infant without annoyance of mortal life but with newborn joyousness. Tradition， in the heart of the post-70s and post-80s artists who were nourished by college education， is a deep complex which has never gone far. Suffused with warm waves， it flows quietly， irrigates the life of art， continues the memory of blood， and allows the brush-pen and ink paintings keeping a clear look while innovating and changing. Thanks to the paintings of the post-70s and post-80s， we met the days gone by again. In the writing with chapped rub method， in the sustenance by chanting objects， and in the transferring of artistic conception， it is as alive as yesterday， reflects the literal feeling of generations of artists.

The brush-pen and ink paintings are heritage of tradition. Are they just deep recall to history？ The mountains and rivers moved and the grass and trees grew and died， even if the old appearance is recovered， the mood has become different. Following the multiple and open development path after ideological emancipation， the post-70s and post-80s artists placed the spiritual essence of traditional painting to modern cultural context and made brand new interpretation and deduction. The implication of oriental aesthetics extended forward with the pulse of the times， making these paintings shining ancient worship wisdom favorable to contemporary era.

Roots， deeply buried underground； leaves， reaching to the cloud. The trunk stretching along with the four seasons carries the joyousness and the twists and turns from sky to ground and from cloud to water. The monsoon blowing from the sea all the year round is condensed into the good and bad in the world. You， me， him…are part of it without exception. Immersed in the broad social life， the post-70s and post-80s artists described the real spiritual world of contemporary Chinese people with password-like brush-pen and ink equation， by following their own feelings. With agile antenna， they explored many diverse fields from ancient to modern times in China and foreign countries. By their eagerly absorbing and modestly exploring， the creative elements such as tradition， fashion and nation were blended and interpenetrated in timespace coordinates. The classic and contemporary era and the east and west were fitted with each other in the boundaryless culture interconnection. During the crosslanguage and cross-border exploration， the post-70s and post-80s artists constantly sought for individualized brush-pen and ink vocabulary and visual schema. Their unique life experience， poetic creation mood， microcosmic narrative perspective and multiple aesthetic interests allowed their brush-pen and ink paintings galloping in the boundless territory when during entering into contemporary context.

“Maybe they are lack of some grand stuff， a little of sense of history and universality， and a little of ethics spirit assumed aimed at existence， but these will not constitute fatal defects since freedom is their most precious treasure today. On this base， a lot of stuff can be supplemented and improved” （Li Xiaoshan）. Nowadays， many post-70s and post-80s artists have explored deeply the historical mission and survival hinterland of the generation with respectively unique brushpen and ink paintings. The individual wild imagination， the strong cultural commitment and the serious attitude to brush-pen and ink paintings make their work shining； they， hold eternal passion and temperament in their mind； they， live in extraordinary era； they， belong to the endless future！ “Art that can develop continuously also has the root of its era. However， it is not only the echo and mirror of the latter， but also has the power to disillusion people and predict the future， and maintain strong activity ability for a long time” （Kandinsky）. Undoubtedly， they， the post-70s and post-80s， will stand at certain important position of the wheel of history and accomplish their unique self statement.