Natural Selection: Chen Tianlong Art Museum Opening Exhibition held at Wenzhou-Kean University Today!

On December 12th, Chen Tianlong Art Museum inauguration ceremony was held at Wenzhou-Kean University. 69 artworks were displayed in the first exhibition named as Natural Selection. Wenzhou Municipal Government leaders, renowned scholars and artists, university leaders, faculty members and students celebrated this significant moment together.

The project founder as well as the host today Vice Chancellor Dr. Zheng Xiaodong extended a warm welcome to all attendees and paid homage to Mr. Chen Tianlong. He couldn’t contain his excitement in the speech, saying “Green represents vitality, just like the Chen Tianlong Art Museum on this beautiful campus. After three years of meticulous preparations, today this project eventually opens a new chapter.”

Mr. Wang Beijiao, Chairman of the Board of Directors of WKU hailed for this moment, “We are glad to see WKU campus having ushered in numerous talents today. The inauguration of the Museum is a great event in the history of WKU. He replenished, “This pioneering project is not only a platform showing artworks, but also a crucial carrier for inheriting and promoting traditional culture.”

The spotlight of today’s event, Mr. Chen Tianlong thanked all the staff behind the scene and the distinguished guests for making this momentous occasion. He agreed on WKU‘s inclusiveness and innovativeness spirits and further stated that “I hope that the Art Museum will be like an invincible flower on the prairie, adding beauty to art and education,” the famous oil painter Mr. Chen Tianlong said emotionally at the ceremony. Later, Mr. Wang Beijiao honored Mr. Chen with a donation certificate.

Arts could not be confined to national boundaries. On behalf of artists, Mr. He Hongzhou, deputy director of the Oil Painting Committee of the Chinese Artists Association, cheered for the achievements of Chen Tianlong in the oil painting area. “Mr. Chen’s works are unique which sometimes resonate with history, while present abundant life experiences. This museum goes beyond a single function as an exhibition district, but also facilitates research in multiple dimensions.”

Mr. Chen Shengfeng, vice chairman of the CPPCC of Wenzhou reviewed the rich culture and history of this city. He attached great importance to this institution since it is the first museum named after an individual artist located at the University in Wenzhou. He regarded it as a new cultural brand and new cultural highland, which will boost regional cultural communications and promote cultural and aesthetic undertakings.

Finally, Mr. Chen Shengfeng, Mr. Chen Tianlong, Mr. Wang Beijiao, and Mr. He Hongzhou jointly unveiled the museum before the first exhibition opened to the public. For the first time, visitors on WKU campus savored the unadulterated joy of art.

A symposium themed on Letting Go of the Heart: Chen Tianlong and Chinese Oil Painting was the next item on the agenda. Well-known artists expressed their opinions freely and boldly, bringing teachers and students fresh and varying interpretations of oil paintings.

The museum is named after artist Mr. Chen Tianlong, who contributed 50 paintings, which constitute the majority of the total volume. This institution affiliates to Wenzhou-Kean University, which was initiated by Vice Chancellor Dr. Zheng Xiaodong three years ago. With tremendous efforts and dedication, today we finally saw the inauguration of the museum. In the future, it will forge closer cultural bonds at home and abroad, enhance the university’s cultural vibe, and advance cultural programs and industries of Wenzhou.

Writer:Alisa LAI