QIJU QILIN SOLO EXHIBITION  
QIJU QILIN  
 
 
   
OPENING RECEPTION
NOVEMBER 9TH 2012. 6-9PM
   
   
EXHIBITION DURATION
9 - 17 NOV, 2012
 
   
EXHIBITION ADDRESS
SIN SIN FINE ART
53-54 SAI STREET,CENTRAL
T(852) 2858 5072
OPEN MON-SAT 9:30AM-6:30PM
CLOSED SUNDAYS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
 
 
Asian Art
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Sin Sin Fine Art proudly presents a special solo exhibition of Tibetan artist Qiju Qilin.


Qiju Qilin crossed paths with Sin Sin Fine Art by way of Wong How Man, the Founder and President of the Hong Kong based China Exploration and Research Society (CERS). Wong How Man met Qiju back in 1981 when he was a journalist for the National Geographic covering China and they became best friends ever since. As an art lover who had the fortunate insight to purchase works by Zhang Xiaogang and Zheng Fanzi before they both became the iconic figures of contemporary art scene in China as they are known today, Wong How Man discerned something of a rare quality in Qiju as an artist who follows his soul with his paint brush.


Qiju paints to revist his most memorable experience and places, reliving them once again as he paints them. As a Tibetan, Qiju loves the Tibetan Plateau of his motherland where he was raised. He has even deeper affection for his hometown - Shangri-La. All this is reflected in his paintings through each of his brush strokes which carry with them a genuine warmth and deep feelings of human ties with one another and with the nature they inhabit.


Qiju Qilin also known as Ni Zhigao, hails from Shangri-La County of Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. He was born to family of serf in Dongwang Canyon in 1950. As one of the brightest students in the first Hanyu class set up in Dongwang, he was offered a place in a teacher training course when he was only 13 years old. Subsequently, when he graduated, he worked as a teacher in the schools he helped set up in his hometown until the Cultural Revolution broke out in China.


While he was always loved to draw since he was a young student, his path to become a professional artist was paved during the Cultural Revolution when image of Chairman Mao and "Quotations from the Chairman Mao" were drawn on walls everywhere across the nation. Since Qiju was the only person who knew Hanyu he braved himself to take up the obligations to paint Chairman Mao. Over time he developed a foundation and interest in the art of painting which he continued to pursue through his study at China's Art pantheon, the China Institute of Art in Hangzhou.


However, Qiju had to put his artistic career aside to become a cadre of the cultural bureau of a then-little-known enclave called Diqing, now home to the tourist mecca of Shangri-La in Yunnan. It was a hard time when most people didn't have the right to choose their own profession. This did not stop Qiju from working on his paintings whenever he could afford to, which he then gave to friends as gifts - a generous soul as he is.


Since 2000, Qiju became an integral member of the China Exploration & Research Society (CERS) that Wong How Man founded over 25 years ago. As the Society's Tibetan Director, he put his heart and mind to helping this organization preserving the cultural heritage of China. In doing so, he executed many important projects of CERS, and was featured on many international as well as national media, including recently by CCTV. Today he remains the Tibetan Director of the CERS Zhongdian Centre in Yunnan.


With encouragement from Wong How Man, Qiju now devotes his time to doing what he loves best, as an artist once again. It is Sin Sin Fine Art and Wong How Man's shared hope that Qiju can finally share his beloved paintings with other art lovers in the world.