Sculptor Qian Shaowu died of illness
created "Li Dazhao Memorial Statue" before his death
The famous Chinese sculptor Qian Shaowu died in Suzhou at 22:35 on June 9, 2021 at the age of 93.
Mr. Qian Shaowu was born in 1928 in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
He was admitted to the National Beiping College of Art in 1947, graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1951; went to study in Jiangsu in 1953, and returned to China in 1959 as the head of the sculpture department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
As a famous contemporary sculpture artist, calligrapher, painter, art educator and art theorist, he enjoys a high reputation both at home and abroad.
Mr. Qian Shaowu’s sculptures interpret the spirit and emotion of historical figures, with a unique sense of dignity and rich variability. Many of the sculptures have become iconic sights of the city where they are located.
Representative works include: "Song of the Great Road" created by the graduates in Jiangsu; "Head of Jiangfeng" which won the silver medal of the 6th National Art Exhibition; "Wen Yiduo" standing on the campus of Tsinghua University; built in Dazhao, Tangshan City, Hebei Province The "Li Dazhao Memorial Statue" in the park and so on.
Shocked to learn of the death of Mr. Qian Shaowu, Mr. Wu Weishan, the director of the National Art Museum of China, who was also a sculptor, wrote a short essay in memory during his business trip.
Wu Weishan said in the article that when I met Mr. Qian Shaowu in the early 1980s, he was moved by his profound and vivid sketches. "His "Sketch Random Thoughts" can be said to be a monograph integrating theory and artistic creation experience. Mr. Qian's Sculpture art has both profound realism skills and romantic poetic performance. It can also be seen that he has found a balance between subjectivity and objectiveness, which has contributed to the new aesthetic of sculpture."
Text/Reporter Wang Yan