.:: Comments on He Qi's Art Work ::.

THE VISION OF CHINESE CHRISTIAN FAITH: THE ART AND LIFE OF HE QI

.......He Qi challenges our assumptions and asks us to view the scene with fresh eyes. In some paintings, black lines run boldly, but not obtrusively, through figures and space alike. Combined with the deep light-suffused colors, this technique gives a stained-glass effect- a reference to the medieval art he so admires. His work is diverse. In addition to his oil paintings, he has done woodblock prints, bold black lines on a single-color background, with a stark, almost primitive feel. He has worked closely with weavers of the Tujia minority, who have executed his designs in their traditional tapestries.

......He Qi looks to the universal as well as the particular aspects of Chinese Christian art. His artwork says something to both the Chinese Christian and worldwide Christian communities. That it does is borne out by the reception of his work overseas. It could, of course, be the case that Christians outside China find such art novel and charming in its unexpected use of Chinese images.

But, as an artist, He Qi is reaching for something deeper and more universal, that he can bring what he has discovered in his quest for a Chinese expression of Christian art to new heights.

By Janice Wickeri
<CHIMES> Fall 1999 Volume 45 No.1