China News Service, Ningbo, May 18 (Reporter Li Dian) On the 18th, the "Dance of Life—African Butterfly and Wing Painting Master Richard Kane Exhibition" was held at the Tianyi Pavilion Museum in Ningbo, Zhejiang.
Tianyi Pavilion, known as "the oldest surviving private library in Asia", is a typical representative of traditional oriental culture.
The butterfly in the Eastern culture is Liang Zhu’s eternal story, symbolizing the unswerving love that lives on from death to death.
In the works of African artist Richard Kane, the butterfly is a symbol of spirituality and vitality, and is endowed with a beautiful meaning of life transformation and beautiful rebirth.
A view of the exhibition hall.
Photo courtesy of Wang Yijing
In this exhibition, more than 80 butterfly wing paintings of Richard Kane are on display.
He uses natural butterfly wings as materials and uses professional technical means to "restore" the beauty of the butterfly's form and spirit, and "reshape" the artistic life of the butterfly.
This exhibition is divided into four units: Eyes of All Things-Abstract Series, Eternal Life of Emotions-Portrait Series, Aspirations of the Earth-Life Series, and Return to Nature-Animal Series.
The subject types of the works cover African portraits, life scenes, animals, etc. The colors are mainly earth tones, and geometric figures are mostly used, which is full of mysterious African art.
Richard Kane has created butterfly wing paintings for more than 20 years. His works are represented by portraits of African life, animals and people, and are popular in Europe, the United States and other countries.
His butterfly wing paintings were once given to China as a national gift of the country, and are now in the collection of the National Museum of China.
Butterfly wing painting works.
Photo courtesy of Wang Yijing
According to Long Wancheng, Richard Kane's Chinese agent, African butterfly wing paintings are one of the representatives of Nigeria's mainstream culture. In the local aristocratic families, there are exquisite butterfly wing paintings in the living room.
Whenever tourists from Europe and the United States come to Nigeria, they will bring a few butterfly wing paintings back to the country for collection.
Talking about the purpose of holding this exhibition, the relevant person in charge of the Tianyi Pavilion Museum said that these works express the awe and praise of life, and hope that the audience can appreciate the unique African customs through the exhibition, feel the charm of different civilizations, and go further. Think and explore the meaning of life, and how to cherish and care for the homeland shared by mankind.
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