Author: Du Yuxin

Qi Baishi is one of the most renowned and influential Chinese artists of the 20th century, known as the “Picasso of the East.” In 2024, on the 160th anniversary of Qi Baishi's birth, the Beijing Fine Art Academy and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco have joined forces to present the exhibition “Qi Baishi——Inspiration in Ink”, opening on December 12 at the Asian Art Museum. The alternative Chinese title named as “Old yet strong, I choose not be an immortal” inspired by a seal carved by Qi. The seal reflects the artist’s resilience and life philosophy. Over nearly a century of life, Qi Baishi witnessed societal changes, from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China and the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On a personal level, he rose from humble beginnings in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, to become a carpenter, a portraitist, and eventually an internationally celebrated artist. Across decades, he remained steadfast in his commitment to depicting the natural world as he saw and felt it. Whether portraying grand mountains and rivers or the tiniest flowers and insects, Qi’s art sang a harmonious song of life. His assertion “I choose not be an immortal” underscores his deep appreciation of worldly wonders over celestial allure. Through this iconic seal, the exhibition honors Qi’s enduring artistic charm and revisits the vibrant legacy he left to the world.

The exhibition features about 50 sets of paintings selected from over 2,000 original paintings and manuscripts in the Beijing Fine Art Academy’s collection, encompassing themes such as figures, landscapes, flowers, aquatic life, and meticulously painted insects. Using reconstructed scenes, art installations, and AI technology, the exhibition offers an immersive exploration of Qi Baishi’s dwelling place where his art emerged, particularly the Hutong culture of Beijing, and the profound philosophical reflections embedded in Chinese ink painting.

It is worth mentioning that this exhibition marks a renewed connection between Qi Baishi and San Francisco. In May 1960, the de Young Museum (now the Asian Art Museum) hosted an exhibition of Qi’s works from the collection of Japanese art collector Yakichirō Suma. Featuring 152 pieces, it introduced Qi’s art to American scholars and collectors. Decades later, this exhibition rekindles this relationship, inviting new friends from San Francisco to immerse themselves in Qi Baishi’s art world.

The event invites Melody of China to perform the Chinese folk music piece live

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS

Emiko Usui, Deputy Director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, delivered a welcoming speech

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS

Wu Hongliang, Director of Beijing Fine Art Academy delivered a video speech

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS



Jay Xu, Director of Beijing Fine Art Academy delivered a video speech

Guo Baojun, Vice Director of Beijing Fine Art Academy delivered a speech

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS

Zhang Jianmin, Consul General of China in San Francisco, delivered a speech

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS



The Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for theExhibition

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS

From left to right: Robert Mintz, Associate Curator of Exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; Zheng Xin, wife of Zhang Jianmin; Salle Yoo, President of the Board of Trustees at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; Emiko Usui, Deputy Director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; Zhang Jianmin, Consul General of China in San Francisco; Guo Baojun, ViceDirectorof the BeijingFine ArtAcademy; Lei Bo, Director of the Art Committee at the BeijingFine ArtAcademy; and Zhang Fan,Curatorof the Chinese Art Department at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Zhang Fan,Curatorof Chinese Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, gave a gallery tour

Wang Yanan, Secretary-General of the Qi Baishi International Art Research Center, introduced the exhibition works to Zhang Jianmin, Consul General of China in San Francisco, and his wife Zheng Xin

Feng Yu, the spacedesigner, introduced the exhibition hall design to the guests

Du Yuxin, ExhibitionCuratorat the BeijingFine ArtAcademy, introduced Qi Baishi's art

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS

Group photo of the opening ceremony guests

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS

After the opening ceremony, Guo Baojun, Vice Director of the Beijing Fine Art Academy, was invited to conduct a Chinese ink painting workshop for the public. Using Qi Baishi's "Lotus and Small Fish" as an example, he led the public in experiencing ink painting creation through live demonstrations and explanations.

Guo Baojun, Vice Director of Beijing Fine Art Academy, gave a live painting demonstration

An audienceisdisplayingher painting

Exhibition Highlights: Marveling at Qi Baishi’s World

The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections, including “Mortals and Immortals”, “The Way of Naturalness”, and “Joy of the countryside.”Each section uses contrasting yet complementary keywords—immortals and mortals, literati and common folk, grand and miniature—to guide visitors through Qi’s unique artistic vision.

Section 1: “Mortals and Immortals”

This chapter focuses on Qi Baishi's figure paintings, showcasing his portrayals of immortals and folklores. Qi Baishi's artistic career began in the countryside of southern China, where he studied the styles of the ancient masters by diligently imitating the paintings of beauties and deities made for decoration or veneration. This rural upbringing experience enabled Qi Baishi to master the techniques of professional painters, while immersing himself in the customs and flavors of folk traditions. Although he produced fewer portraits later in his life, this rustic sentiment was carried over into his artistic veins.The works in this section show how Qi Baishi conveyed his preferences for folk culture and customs by capturing vivid characters of a variety of figures with his brushstrokes. From the Daoist immmortal Iron Crutch Li and the demon queller Zhong Kui, to the townspeople leisurely picking their ears or going to school, whether immortals or mortals, all these portraits are vivid and lovely in gestures as if coming from real life. The boundaries between immortals and mortals have thus become blurred in Qi’s art.

Featured works:

Little Ghost Scratching Zhong Kui’s Back

Qi Baishi

1926, ink and colors on paper

Beijing Fine Art Academy collection

Going to School

Qi Baishi

undated, ink and colors on paper

Beijing Fine Art Academy collection

Section 2: “The Way of Naturalness”

This section shows Qi Baishi's pursuits of the ultimate beauty in nature and his bold creativity. During his five expeditions in China, Qi witnessed the grandeur of mountains and rivers, and he also witnessed the beauty of plants and animals in his farming life of the countryside. The infinite changes and life cycles in nature inspired Qi Baishi's imagination and innovation. His palette included the brilliant vermilion and rattan yellow colors as well as dark ink washes and white blanks. His vision ranged from the vast sky to the subtle distance. His brushwork reveals the profoundness of Chinese ink painting and incorporates the formal aesthetics of the art itself. At this point, the old man's pigeons and Picasso's doves echo in time and space. All of his works demonstrate the experiments of modernizing Chinese painting and reflect the resonance between Eastern and Western arts.In addition, some of Qi’s paintings simultaneously present magnificent landscapes and miniature scenes of grasses and insects. Observe from afar the misty waves of the Dongting Lake and the swaying bamboo groves of the Apricot Dock, while close up, the wings of the dragonfly are as thin as fine gauzes and the tentacles of the cricket are as distinct as a tiny hair string. The vigor of life and the inspiration of art fully blossoms in the magical ink and brush of this centenarian painter.

Featured works:

Borrowing Mountain from the Nature Album (Selected Works)

Qi Baishi

1910, ink and colors on paper

Beijing Fine Art Academy collection

1981835137795

Qi Baishi

Flower and Phoenix Moth

Fine brushwork insect painting album 1 of 8

34×27cm / 1949

Ink and colors on paper

Beijing Fine Art Academy Collection

2010410351155

Qi Baishi

Cowpea and Mantis

Fine brushwork insect painting album 6 of 8

34×27cm /1949

Ink and colors on paper

Beijing Fine Art Academy Collection

Section 3: “Joy of the countryside”

The works in this section mainly illustrate the diversity and innovation of Qi Baishi's artistic styles. His distinctive creation sprouted from the paradigm of literati paintings, and Bada Shanren and Xu Wei were once his subjects of imitation. Therefore, he is well acquainted with the aesthetic tastes and cultural implications of traditional Chinese literati, including the combination of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving, as well as the purity and elegance of the Four Gentlemen of Flowers. However, simply imitating previous masters could not satisfy Qi’s ambition and his unrestrained mind. Qi Baishi chose to return to the essence of everyday life, presenting rural scenes and the charm of the ordinary. Herding cattle, fishing, and planting fruits—all these scenes are depicted in vivid detail. The elegant tastes of the literati and the popular pleasures of common folks fully integrated in his works. Many of his works were inspired by the countryside scenes of his hometown. Freshly scented fruits and vegetables, rakes in the fields, swimming fish and shrimps, these scenes are rendered via his brush in a poetic manner full of rural beauty and oriental rhythm.

Featured works:

2455545826770

Abacus for Wealth

Qi Baishi

103.5×47cm / 1927

Ink on paper

Beijing Fine Art Academy Collection

2119630681990

Shrimp

Qi Baishi

81cm×33.5cm 1948

Ink on paper

Beijing Fine Art Academy Collection

A Walk Through Time: Immersive Hutong Culture

This exhibition’s design is led by spatial artist Mr. Feng Yu, who uses materials such as bamboo curtains and rice paper to simulate the architectural style and geometric beauty of the most important buildings in Beijing—the hutong courtyards. The exhibition recreates the atmosphere of early 20th-century Beijing life, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the cultural context of Qi Baishi’s residence and creative environment in Beijing, overcoming the limitations of time and space.

After officially settling in Beijing in 1919, Qi Baishi spent the later half of his life there. He initially lived in several temples in Beijing, and later resided in a hutong courtyard with his family. If his hometown, Hunan, gave him his first dreams in life, then the city of Beijing helped to further his artistic career, providing countless sources of inspiration and nourishment. Here, he met many like-minded friends, including Peking opera master Mei Lanfang, modern literary figure Hu Shi, and painter Xu Beihong. He also participated in numerous exhibitions both at home and abroad, such as the Second Sino-Japanese Joint Painting Exhibition and the European Tour of Chinese Modern and Contemporary Painting. As a result, his reputation spread globally, and he earned the admiration and support of overseas artists and collectors such as Noguchi Isamu(1904-1988), Vojtěch Chytil (1896-1936), Yakichirō Suma (1892-1970), Alice Boney (1901-1988), and Robert H. Ellsworth (1929-2014).

Qi Baishi and his family living in a Beijing hutong,

photographed by Hedda H. Morrison.

Inspired by this, the exhibition creates an immersive experience that explores the unique culture of Beijing's hutongs through multiple dimensions: visual, auditory, and tactile. Upon entering the exhibition, visitors will first encounter an interactive installation titled "Letters from Qi Baishi." Hundreds of traditional Chinese envelopes, each containing a small painting, poem, or blessing from Qi, are arranged in a way that forms a dynamic geometric pattern. This design recalls the lattice structure of hutong windows, where the interlocking wooden frames and paper create a sense of dynamic beauty.

Window lattice structure in a Beijing hutong

A letter from Qi Baishi carrying the elder’s blessings

Before leaving, visitors can randomly select an envelope as a souvenir. In addition, the exhibition offers free stationery and a submission box, where visitors can write a reply letter to share their impressions of the exhibition with “Old Master Qi.”

The guest drew an envelope fromthe installation

Letters fromBaishiUnder the Flickering Light and Shadow

Photography by VIVØ VISUALS

As visitors slowly walk into the exhibition hall, they will be immersed in an artistic world made up of bamboo curtains and rice paper. These bamboo curtains, hanging partially visible from above, resemble the semi-open, draped curtains of hutong homes. They serve both as independent space dividers and as symbols of the close, trusting relationships between neighbors. The randomly cut and assembled rice paper backgrounds recreate the lattice structure of hutong windows, conveying the relaxed, homely atmosphere of life. Rice paper also plays a crucial role in Qi Baishi’s ink painting, connecting the artist’s work and life while inviting the audience to connect and share in the creation of a story about encounters.

Photograph©AsianArtMuseumof San Francisco

Photograph©AsianArtMuseumof San Francisco

In the deeper part of the exhibition hall, visitors will hear the sounds of the old Beijing street vendors calling out their goods, the pigeon keeper’s whistle summoning the pigeons back to their nests, and the melodious voices of Peking opera performers. These sounds intertwine, evoking endless nostalgia for the ancient capital. On the other side, near the insect paintings, faint insect chirps are heard. This is the courtyard that Qi Baishi loved most, where countless small creatures accompanied him during his creative process. It is in such a lively environment that Qi Baishi fully explored the marvelous aspects of ordinary life, forming a naive yet humorous artistic style.

The historical photo of Qi Baishi in his art studio,

photographed by Jack Birns

Qi Baishi’s studio in the exhibition hall

Accompanied by these sounds, visitors will find themselves in Qi Baishi’s studio. On the side wall, there is a handwritten sign by him that reads, "I do not consider friendship in selling paintings, for that is what a true gentleman should feel ashamed. Please adhere to the listed prices. In the autumn of the Gengwu year (1930), the seventh lunar month, wrote in a direct style." This is Qi Baishi’s respectful and sincere attitude toward his profession as an artist. On the opposite wall are his written couplets and a peace dove, symbolizing the elder’s simplest wish—"To encourage people to cultivate well, and to live in peace."

AI Meets Ink: Exploring New Horizons

The Beijing Fine Art Academy, in collaboration with Limage Studio, has carried out research and integration in the fields of Qi Baishi's art and digital imagery creation. Through the use of AI technology, it demonstrates the evolution of brushstrokes in Chinese ink painting, refining the unique way of thinking and aesthetic awareness of Qi Baishi art.

The digital imagery consists of three sections: “Sketching and Expressiveness—From Realistic Representation to Artistic Expression”: This section uses the image of fish as an example to showcase the different approaches to representing real subjects in Eastern and Western painting, and further analyzes the transformation of the motif of fish in Qi Baishi’s paintings.“Brushwork and Ink Analysis”: This section begins with Qi Baishi’s “one brushstroke” and traces the power of ink absorption and transformation on rice paper in Chinese painting.“Learning from Ancient Masters, Yet Having My Own Style”: This section presents a computer model that learns Qi Baishi’s painting style and, through AI-assisted design, generates images of “AI Qi Baishi” depicting the landscape of San Francisco.

The Audiencesits quietly watching the AI demonstration

Photograph©AsianArtMuseumof San Francisco

The digital imagery is displayed alongside Qi Baishi’s “Borrowing Mountains from Nature Album” in the exhibition hall. Visitors will be able to "swim" through the landscape of the painting before exploring the digital world of landscapes created through technology. As Qi Baishi said when creating this set of painting, “For all the famous mountains and great rivers of the world, whatever I see with my eyes or hear with my ears, I wish to borrow it. The mountains I borrow are not from just one place.” Modern technology offers people rich tools and perspectives to understand Chinese art. With the help of digital technology’s networks, the 160-year-old Qi Baishi is “traveling” once again in a different form.

For Qi Baishi, as the digital age continues to evolve, will the sounds of his hometown still be faintly heard, and will the misty mountains remain unchanged? As AI becomes the new “brush and ink,” who will serve as the touchstone for whom? The exhibition invites audiences to provide a fresh perspective and contribute their own answer to this question.

The exhibition will run until April 7, 2025, and will then tour to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.