1968 Born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province

1993 Graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

One of the most notable features in Ji Dachun’s work is the large amount of blank space. Although the depicted objects are placed in the center of his paintings, they only account for a very small proportion of the whole picture. The figures in traditional Chinese landscape paintings usually only account for a very small proportion of the paintings. Amongst such a vast landscape, the worship and awe that people feel towards the natural landscapes is sustained. To some extent, by situating his images in the center of large white canvases, Ji seizes upon this aspect of traditional Chinese landscape painting. Furthermore, due to the small and exquisite nature of the images depicted, each brushstroke must be restrained. The degree of restraint used is equitable to the meticulous brushstrokes of Chinese paintings. Where they used ink on paper, Ji uses acrylic on linen, conducting exquisite wrinkles, scrubs, dots, and dyes. However, his target is no longer landscapes as depicted by ancient people but, rather, people, or any objects,  that he can bestow images upon. In the center of blank canvases, viewers are therefore able to see various unrestrained Ji Style’s humor. For example, the colorful skeleton in Anatomy (2004) illustrates how Ji Style’s humor often adds a touch of romantic innocence to much of his work. In addition, the traditional Chinese landscape painting is seen as a growth of life. The result of a life that grows into a form does not contain the scientific perspective of classical Western painting, nor does it stress the effects of light and shadow. Ji’s paintings do not contain such shadows. Most objects have images bestowed upon them, so they do not grow according to logic. Each one of them eventually becomes a little life that can be labeled with the Ji Style’s mark. It is through this that Ji is able to carry his restrained romantic innocence to create Ji Style’s compositions and bizarre images that are able to coagulate with traditional Chinese paintings without losing the flavor of our times. With these fanciful ideas, Ji exerts himself as the engraver of Ji Style’s humor upon the “mark of China”.