Postscript of 2015 Guanlan International Print Biennial

From the starting to the end, the Biennial has experienced four quarters. The thing that reminds us of the change of the seasons usually is the distant contacts. In October and November when Guanlan International Print Biennial solicited contributions, Shenzhen Guanlan was full of green with brightness, but the trees’ leaves in Tokyo already turned yellow, and it was snowy in Alaska. Later for biennial works, our waiting become intranquil as the time flies, while our mind was still reluctant to leave from last year’s warm winter. The print works from all over the world were flying to this moderate-temperature Guanlan with the wishes of the Spring Festival.

The Biennial has been held five times until now. In the applications received from the countries in the world, we always see some familiar image symbols and familiar people. Yet even we’ve never met most of the artists, we still have a kind of old feelings towards them. Holding their application forms, we see that some of the young and beautiful appearances became mature, and some even put on weight, some looked a little weather beaten. We know that they must have their own special life experience and stories. Particularly, when seeing some artists’ black hair turned white, I suddenly realized that we all have experienced the flying time. When we were young, we gathered for the dream of print, but now we all have our own families. However, there emerge a large number of young printmaking artists. From the young people to the predecessors with white hair, though we are in different countries with different races and cultural backgrounds, we are still connected due to the common dreams of print art.

Guanlan International Print Biennial, China 2015 is a grand artistic ceremony with attention of international print field. The Biennial’s evaluation reflects fierce competition, and the information released each time is stirring. 268 works were selected in the two rounds of evaluation from 4034 works from 83 countries and regions, of which 11 works have won “Guanlan International Print Prize”. In the meantime of congratulating the winners and finalists, we also feel regret to the artists who failed and sincerely appreciate for their active participation and supports to the Biennial. Many artists are also excellent with great hopes on their works, but currently, in the Biennial’s fair evaluation mechanism, there are only a small number of works left. We have witnessed the solemn tragedy of many unselected works. On the other hand, we also have seen the great joy of the winners and finalists. Britain famous printmaking artist Peter Ford said, many “I had been looking at the biennial website for news of the selection, trying to prepare myself for disappointment. Your email with the congratulations of winning is the best email I have received for a long time. I jump for joy”.

The end of the Fifth Guanlan International Print Biennial, China 2015 means that ten springs, summers, autumns and winters have passed. In the past ten years, the Biennial has developed with supports and cares from all sectors, becoming one of the most important and authoritative exhibitions of China, and even of the world. During these years, the Party secretary and vice chairman of China Artists Association, Mr. Wu Changjiang, had been earnest to conduct all work of the Biennial. The Biennial’s previous curators, Mr. Guang Jun, Mr. Qi Fengge, Mr. Zhang Yuanfan, Mr. Li Baoquan, Mr. Dong Xiaoming, Mr. Jiang Lu, Mr. Su Xinping, Mr. Kang Jianfei, Mr. Liu Libin took charge of the curating in succession and jointly created the current Guanlan International Print Biennial, leaving appealing stories of each Biennial in the past ten years.

Currently, Guanlan Printmaking Base was growing up strong and sturdy as young man. China Printmaking Museum with top management standard and facilities has been established, and the International Printmaking College is under plan. In the environment that China’s economy develops, and cultural arts are greatly developed and prosperous, Guanlan International Print Biennial will welcome another ten years. When we feel grateful, we also think deeply of the opportunities and challenges faced by the Biennial. We wish the Biennial shall develop better with the support of all parties, helping the dreams of artists all over the world come true and making contributions to promote the development of international print and cultural exchange.