DUAN ZHENGQU

In 2018, Magician Space held a retrospective exhibition featuring Duan Zhengqu’s works from the 1980s to 2018, including manuscripts, paper paintings, and oil paintings. The exhibition revisits Duan’s frequent painting trips to Shanbei since 1987, his internalization of these experiences as sources of creativity after 1995, and his exploration of new possibilities in material and form around 2010.

Youwei Town, located in the hilly area of the Loess Plateau in the Youyu County of Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, has been a frequent destination for Duan Zhengqu to take his students sketching for over a decade. The terrain of Youwei slopes higher towards the west and lower towards the east, with a relatively flat central area surrounded by mountains. Duan explained that what he finds most intriguing about Youwei is not just its natural scenery, but the solemn and harsh frontier atmosphere. The city walls and ancient pottery shards strewn about the area, along with the names of nearby villages such as “Shahu Pass,” “Pohu Fort,” “Weiyuan Fort,” and “Maying River,” all evoke images of a bloody and brutal ancient era. Duan Zhengqu also mentioned that Youwei’s proximity to Beijing, coupled with its sparsely populated areas, provides a peaceful environment for painting. In recent years, especially since the epidemic, Youwei has become an important base for Duan’s artistic endeavors outside of Beijing.

Since 2015, Duan Zhengqu has embarked on numerous experiments and explorations for nearly 8 years. His unwavering determination to evolve has driven him to continuously engage in dialogue with and surpass various personal boundaries and limitations, including his reliance on certainthemes and certain habits of visual language. Duan’s recent works, including “Secret Garden I, II, III,” feature frozen flowers, dense forests, and city graffiti, all increasingly detailed on a micro level, challenging him to reorganize his painting experiences. He also intentionally incorporates everyday experiences from the 1990s, such as portraits of friends, students, and public figures, as well as scenes from Northwest festivals and daily life. His paintings balance meticulous depictions with a sense of freedom, aiming for peaceful yet impactful results. While representing fragmented experiences of the past,he also transforms them with a present perspective. This stage of his artistic career demonstrates some issues that he has faced since the 1990s, including the tension between his distinct style rooted in local culture and contemporary art trends.

Duan Zhengqu’s ongoing struggles have compelled him to travel and revisit “Youwei”, his “Walden Lake.” His exploration during this period is often accompanied by imagery of darkness, ruins, and debris, driven by an inherent need to express heavy experiences, melancholic emotions, and profound humanistic consciousness accurately and powerfully. Duan Zhengqu understands that adventure and stimulation can originate from within, and painting can transform even the most ordinary days into an exciting journey.