Mian Situ Colors of the Shaoshu Minzu
Since leaving China in 1987, Mian Situ has made several return trips to his native homeland visiting and photographing small villages and farming communities primarily in the southwest provinces. This collection of new oils springs from these journeys and lie very close to the artist’s heart. For Mian, the rural countryside life of his youth is one that is still deeply rooted within him and it serves as the impetus behind his desire to capture the dignity and quiet beauty of the people whose traditional way of life and dress is in danger of disappearing. “Colors of the Shaoshu Minzu” presents Mian at his inspired best. Shaoshu Minzu refers to the 55 ethnic minorities officially recognized by the People’s Republic of China. Mian has captured each subject with remarkable sensitivity, keen perception of design, and joyous use of color. From “Tibetan Farm Girl” to “Lahu Grandmother” he conveys a visual splendor. Everyday people accent their surroundings with rhythm, texture and hue. The patterns and rich colored clothing create a magical, jewel-life scenario. The strength of these paintings is found not only in their intriguing beauty, but their straightforward documentary of the continuing perseverance of these ancient societies. The paintings often combine elements of the young and old, a metaphor for the passage of time. Juxtaposed with these scenes is the simple, matter of fact dedication to preserving one’s culture, one’s existence. It is with great pleasure that we invite you to experience “Colors of the Shaoshu Minzu.” Maryvonne Leshe Managing Partner
Mian Situ Colors of the Shaoshu Minzu March 25 - April 7, 2013
A RTIST’S O pen in g Reception in Scottsdale
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Wa Mothers With Sons oil on canvas 28 x 34 inches $26,000 After finishing their daily chores, these Wa mothers are sitting outside their homes with their infant children and enjoying a visit.
Eyes Of Wisdom oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches $7,000 Silver is the traditional symbol of wealth for many tribes. Women, and to a lesser extent men, wear silver necklaces, headdress ornaments and other kinds of jewelry. Women sometimes wear large silver rings, necklaces or chains around their necks with a silver linked belt over their sashes and jackets.
Market Day oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches $7,000 The Wa are an agricultural people, planting rice, sweet potatoes and corn. They supplement their diet through hunting and picking wild mountain vegetables and fruits. These Wa Women are at the village market selling the vegetables they grow in their fields. The market is also a popular place for social gathering.
Tibetan Farm Girl oil on canvas 24 x 30 inches $20,000 Most Tibetan people live a nomadic life in Tibet but this young girl is from a farmer’s family living in Sichuan Province. This populous province of west China includes a good fraction of the Tibetan plateau, and although most of Sichuan Province’s population is Han Chinese, there is also a significant population of minorities such as Tibetans.
Lahu Grandmother oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches $11,000 The Lahu are one of China’s 55 official minority groups. The name Lahu reportedly means “to roast tiger meat by fire,� although others say the name has no particular meaning. Three days after a child is born, the parents invite old people to a small feast where a name is given to the child. However, if an unexpected visitor should arrive, he or she is given the honor of naming the newborn.
Thai Woman At Market oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches $7,000 This market scene is from Cangyuan county in the Yunnan Province. The woman carrying the basket is Thai, while the other people at the market are from the Wa tribe. Yunnan Province has several different tribes with different costumes and cultures and many of these tribes spread across the borders into different countries.
Watchful eyes oil on canvas 32 x 42 inches $36,000 This is a typical scene you come upon when you visit a Wa village. Old ladies with costumes always spend their time together, have a chat and share their thoughts. Here they are relaxing and smoking harsh, dark homegrown tobacco through corncob style-pipes with long stems made of silver, wood and buffalo horn.
Best Friends oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches $7,000 This young girl is from the Miao Minority in Guizhou. The Miao are very skilled at handicrafts, such as embroidering, weaving, paper-cutting, batik, and jewelry casting. The Miao embroidery and silver jewelry are delicate and beautiful. From hats, collars, and cuffs to skirts and baby carriers, the patterns on their clothes are extremely colorful with clean lines. At the age of seven, young girls will learn embroidering from mothers and sisters and by the time they are teenagers, they are quite skillful.
Dressed For The Festival oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches $11,000 The Dong people are famed for their native-bred Kam sweet rice, carpentry skills and unique architecture, in particular a form of covered bridge known as the “wind and rain bridge.� The Dong people live mostly in eastern Guizhou, western Hunan and northern Guangxi. The women are adept at spinning and embroidering and on the brocade, they like to embroider patterns of animals, plants, wares, and even legends. Most of their clothes are self made in colors of blue, black, white and purple. They are also skilled in the arts of painting, engraving and the casting of ornate silver. The silver chains worn by these Dong women are worn for festival occasions.
Wa Woman Of Yunnan Province oil on canvas 9 x 12 inches $5,000 The Wa tribe lives in the Yunnan Province of Southwest China. Their name means “mountaineer,� indicating that from ancient times they have dwelled in the mountain areas along the border of China and Burma (now Myanmar). The people use very bright colors in their costumes and head dress.
Corn Sellers At Cangyuan Market oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches $11,000
Spring Meeting oil on canvas 26 x 40 inches $28,000
This is a scene from Wengding village in Yunnan Province. Two Wa ladies are having a casual conversation when they meet. Behind them there is a bamboo piping water system the villagers use to collect and transport water from the mountain for their everyday needs.
The village market is a wonderful place to see people from the vicinity all mixed together in one place. Here they exchange products and meet relatives and friends. It is a day spent enjoying the social life and buying items for their everyday needs.
Tibetan Sisters oil on canvas 24 x 30 inches $20,000 These young girls are the daughters of Tibetan farmers who live in Aba, Sichuan Province.
Watchful oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches $7,000 Kazakhs are a fiercely independent people. They inhabit the present-day republic of Kazakhstan and the Xinjiang province in northwestern China, between Mongolia and Tibet. This painting captures a Kazakh mother with her infant son.
Quiet Time oil on canvas 36 x 30 inches $29,000 I met this beautiful Wa lady when I visited her village, called Wengding. I had lunch in their home and had a good time with her family.
Guangxi PROVINCE: Guangxi is a relatively poor area located in a highly scenic area in southern China. Technically it is known as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region because of its large Zhuang minority population. The province is located in Southwest China west of Guangdong Province (Canton) and also contains a significant coastline on the South China Sea. Guizhou PROVINCE: Located in southwest China, Guizhou Province adjoins Sichuan and Chongqing to the north, Yunnan to the west, Guangxi to the south and Hunan to the east. It is a picturesque place with abundant natural and cultural scenic spots. Many Chinese ethnic minorities have been living on this land for centuries. Visitors to that area can not only appreciate various attractions, but also discover the rich and distinctive folk customs and cultures of the different ethnic groups. Sichuan PROVINCE: Located in the southwest part of the country, Sichuan has been the gateway to Tibet. In fact, the western part of the province is one of the Tibetan-inhabited areas and visitors can experience customs and living habits of the Tibetan nationality. Its capital city, Chengdu, is the cultural and industrial center for the agricultural Chengdu Plain and one of the first centers of printing in the country. It has also been famous for its luxurious satins, brocades, and lacquer ware since the 13th century. Tibetan PROVINCE: When Tibetans refer to ‘Tibet’ they are talking about the entity comprising the three provinces of U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo. The two Tibetan provinces of Kham and Amdo are now largely incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan. Tibet’s traditional territory now accounts for one quarter of the landmass of today’s People’s Republic of China. Xinjiang PROVINCE: China’s Xinjiang province is the country’s most westerly region, bordering on the former Soviet states of Central Asia, as well as several other states including Afghanistan, Russia, and Mongolia. The largest ethnic group, the Muslim, Turkicspeaking Uighurs, has lived in China’s shadow for centuries. The region has had an intermittent history of autonomy and occasional independence, but was finally brought under Chinese control in the 18th century. YUNNAN PROVINCE: Yunnan is a Province of the People’s Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers and with a population of 45.7 million. The capital of the Province is Kunming. Yunnan has the highest number of ethnic groups among all provinces and autonomous regions in China.
Mian Situ Born in rural Southern China, Mian Situ received his formal art training in his native homeland of Guangdong, formerly Canton. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and later earned his Master’s of Fine Arts from the prestigious Guangzhou Institute of Fine Art. Deeply influenced by the 19th Century European Academic Realism that traveled to Russia and was eventually imported to China, he was exposed to the extremely disciplined Russian approach: one year of drawing exercises done only in black and white, then working with a live model and finally, after a year or two, learning to master oil painting. His academic training is the result of western influences that were prevalent during the Cultural Revolution and available only to talented, young Chinese artists. Mian taught at the institute for six years, and eventually moved to Canada where he endeavored to establish himself as a recognized artist. A turning point for Mian presented itself in 1995 when he entered his work in the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, for which the judges recognized his exceptional talent and awarded him the $10,000 Best of Show award. He participated in the exhibition again in 1996 and was presented with the National Award of Excellence. With his career on the upswing, Mian moved his family to the United States in 1998 and settled in Southern California where he found himself surrounded by new, creative influences. He relished the opportunity to explore new subject matter and painting techniques. That same year he won the Gold Medal at the Oil Painters of America exhibition, an award he would win again in 1999 and 2000. Mian now had a national following for his painterly, jewel toned oils depicting the rhythms and traditional way of life of the rural Chinese countryside where he was raised. In 2001, an invitation to exhibit at the Masters of the American West Exhibition and Sale at the Autry National Center brought his work to a whole new level. Mian immersed himself in researching and subsequently depicting the Chinese immigrant experience and the historic contribution these people made to the development of the American west; from contributing the crucial labor necessary to the gold mining enterprise to laboring in laundries and laying railroad tracks for the Central Pacific Railroad. During the show, Mian was presented with the Patron’s Choice Award and has since gone on to win every major award from the Masters Exhibition. Today, Mian’s body of work continues to be heavily influenced by his rural upbringing in China, and he often returns home to re-visit the villages and people that inspire his paintings. He notes, “Passion is the most important thing in art. Technique is important, but the foundation itself doesn’t express anything. Emotion is what moves people. It’s what’s personal to the artist. You have to tell the story in your own way.” Mian is a Signature Member of the California Art Club. He lives in Southern California with his wife Helen and their daughter Lisa.
Trailside Galleries
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7 3 3 0 Sco ttsdale Mall, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
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Telephone (480) 945-7751
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www.Tr ailsideGaller ies.com
7330 Scottsdale Mall Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Tel (480) 945-7751 www.TrailsideGalleries.com