Couple Devoted to Engraving Art(记阿鸽 徐匡)

　　——转载自《中国妇女》英文月刊

　　Yi Girl by A Ge 阿鸽作品——《凉山姑娘》

　　Xu Kuang and A Ge make a couple — both in life and in work. Xu and A live in Chengdu, in southwestern China's Sichuan Province. Xu and A, who are husband and wife, are among China's best-known engraving artists. In addition to making their art, A is a director of the China Artists' Association and Vice-President of the China National Academy of Engraving Art (CNAEA). Xu is a researcher with CNAEA. Their art brought them together, as they met and eventually worked together on various projects. They supported each other and, over time, fell in love. Their story is well-known among Chinese artists.

　　Approximately 150 works by Xu and A were exhibited at the Chinese Museum of Women and Children recently. The All-China Women's Federation and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles hosted the exhibit. These works, created by the couple during decades of engraving, presented a complete and authentic view of their achievements.

　　A is a member of the Yi ethnic group. She graduated from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1964. She is a member of the first generation of female engraving artists after 1949, the year in which the People's Republic of China was founded.

　　A's works reflect an abstract style. She combines typical colors in Yi people's daily lives with Western painting styles. Her works showcase her creativity. The following works are some of her masterpieces.

　　Master《主人》

　　This engraving reflects how Tibetans have been masters of their own fate since the democratic reform in Tibet in 1959. In this work of art, the Tibetan man looks robust and decisive. The sculpture and triangle composition strengthen the power and personality of the engraving. There is a strong contrast between black and white, and there are various changes in the style used in the cutting. Master, a creation of A and Xu, earned the couple first prize during the Fifth National Fine Arts Exhibition in 1979.

　　Pigeon《鸽子》

　　After A returned to her hometown, Liangshan, she saw some Yi girls running along the roadside. Although they wore shabby clothes, the girls looked very happy. "Though art is based on humans' real lives, it is presented in an artistic way. It's not easy to find a Yi girl holding pigeons in reality, but I created the scene to reflect the peaceful and harmonious life of the Yi people," says A. The work has been collected by the British Museum.

　　Fine Wine《美酒飘香》

　　Prior to 1994, A generally focused on black-and-white woodcuts. Since then, she has applied the skill of watermark printing to her engraving projects.

　　Fine Wine is a prime example of this transformation in her work. As she grew up in Liangshan, A often returned to her hometown to visit her friends. In Liangshan, girls of the Yi ethnic group wear their traditional clothes, which make them look beautiful. A was once inspired by those girls, and she decided to create a work of art that showcased the beauty of Yi girls. "Red, yellow and black are the main colors of the clothes worn daily by Yi girls. I also wore this kind of a dress when I was young," A says.