Yuan Xikun is equally adept at bringing to life animals and humans. His work ranges from capturing wildlife he has studied at length in the jungle to creating commissioned portraits of international politicians and celebrities.

　　Take his tigers, an essay in feline expression. His refined brushstrokes animate the taut energy of the tiger in “Demeanor of the King;” a regal tiger head in “Mountain Gentleman;” and a tiger at rest in “A Nap and Moonlit Night.” Most powerful of all is his small bronze, “Patron Saint of Forest,” showing a tiger roaring.

　　The son of well-known painter, Yuan Xiaoling, Yuan Xikun began making art at an early age, working in his father’s studio. He later studied at an academy of fine arts, Yunnan Art College. He was also mentored by Jian Zhaohe, a master of traditional Chinese painting.

　　For many years, Yuan Xikun has functioned as a cultural ambassador, having been commissioned to create portraits of over 100 international politicians and celebrities in both ink-and-wash and bronze, including Koffi Annan, Jacques Chirac, Boris Yeltsin and President Clinton. He continues to participate in many international causes. In 1995, he established a private museum, Beijing Jintai Art Museum.

　　“Like Robinson Crusoe,” as he puts it, Yuan Xikun spent seven years living in the jungle, studying both flora and fauna. His love of animals is apparent in his work, and he is highly active in the environmental movement.

　　Yuan Xikun, a master of the “vivid tone,” one of the six major principles of traditional Chinese painting, begins his work with sketches, which for him are key to recognizing the spirit of his subject. In his animal portraits, Xikun combines traditional Chinese brushwork with Western oil painting technique to create pieces imbued with a fresh, modern energy.

　　In both his paintings and his sculpture, Yuan Xikun attempts to merge both spirit and structure to capture a subject’s essence--whether it the galloping horse in “Morning Sunshine,” or his bust of Gandhi, for the Beijing International Sculpture Park.

　　In the tension he creates between lines of composition and structure, Xikun manages to evoke a kind of poetry in motion. Sometimes it is humorous, as in his leaping sculpture, “Heavenly Dog.” Other times it is poignant, as in his crystal (ck), “Urgency of the Polar Region,” an elegant plea to help save this endangered species, which was selected for the Champion of Earth Award of the United Nations Environment Program.

　　Xikun works in three studios. The largest, in Beijing, has a big outdoor space, while his studio in Guizhou, his ancestral home, is in the country, surrounded by mountains and trees. For the larger works, he can use as many as ten or more assistants.

　　At a recent show, “2 to Three Dimension,’ in Chelsea, New York, which showed Yuan Xikun’s transition from painting to sculpture, the youthful 67- year-old artist was wearing his trademark red beret. As animated as his work, Yuan Xikun explained his process. For some time, he has been focusing most of his energy on sculpture, which he feels his more interactive with audiences, and more permanent. His goal is to create what he calls “lively sculpture.”

　　“Sketching is very important to me. During my process, I use sketching to learn every aspect of my subject. It helps me to capture the characteristics and motion, the dynamic, but most importantly, the spirit,” the artist said.

　　But Xikun’s work also has a specific purpose. Yuan Xikun said that he hoped his show would make audiences more environmentally conscious. “As Aristotle said, ‘Art is a byproduct of nature. That’s why I use animals as major subject matter in my art,” he explained. “I believe that art should be created to benefit the community at large. I have a responsibility to increase people’s awareness of environment and to reflect the concerns of our society at this moment.”

　　American Art Critic Phoebe Hoban

作者：Phoebe,Hoban