Last century.there were two peak eras when Chinese artists rush to the West to study. The first was between the 20’ s and the 30’s. the second was during the 80's. No matter if these artists decided to stay overseas of to return to their motherland. they all have decided to keep their Chinese citizenship. It seems that the influence of their cultural background and their existence as a Chinese on their art is quite obvious. From a historical perspective,the nation’s political and social situation at that time was the direct cause of such a decision,butt more intrinsically ,it was due to embrace other cultures,but definitely impacted on one’s choice--making process .As result ,the identity of these artists determined the characteristics of their art. looking at these artists' experience ,one may realize that they all more or less studied art in China before

　　studying overseas They consciously compared both cultures not only while in the West, but also did so throughout their life .They hove never detached themselves from their own culture. always comparing and evaluating both. In addition. people of

　　their generation wore also affected by the current cultural trend, which was expired quickly and forgotten as the era ended.Their choices reflect the characteristics of that era.

　　Wang Jian is totally different though. He imrnediately joined the’Bay Area Figurative Painting ’trend without hesitation as soon as he arrived in the United States.His forged his fate through his persistence in pursuing art.His success would have been unimaginable without such persistence. He even neglected the fact that American art trend has been shifting,simply focusing on the philosophy and approach of the’ Bay Area Figurative Painting.It may seem to be unreasonable for such persistency.Or maybe he didn’t need a reason for that,because he enjoyed doing so.In his eyes,’Bay Area Figurative Painting ’helped him fulfill his artistic ideal,which is the entire of his life.He doesn’t know what else he needs other than this.Life can only be meaningful when you have one thing worthy of devoting yourself into.Wang Jian has demonstrated his insight in art by observing those seemingly simple truths in ordinary life.

　　Understanding pop art was the beginning of our recognition of American art. Then it followed the introduction of New Expressionism. Photographic Realism. conceptual Art, New Media Art, Cartoon Art, and so on. We neglected ‘Bay Area Figurative Painting 'because we seem to have been, accustomed to applying longitudinal or linear perspective to recognize existence of art,which is rather short--sighted and incomplete,resulting in a misleading interpretation of art.The world is complex, so is art. We need a new way of thinking when we look at the world and art

　　Wang Jian may or may not be a special case,but we need to thank him of introducing to thank him for introducing to us a new way of thinking on art. Best wishes to the success of his exhibition.

2013.11.28

作者：Du,Da一kai