Chinesischer Blick auf sich selbst:

Xuan Tan sieht sich eingebettet in die Künstlertradition dreier Generationen, ist aber überzeugt, dass sie die chinesische klassische Malweise mit Tinte auf Seidenpaper hinter sich lassen und Neues wagen muss. Hier ihr nächtlicher Brief über WeChat auf Englisch anläßlich einer von ihr organisierten Ausstellung in Peking:

In the exhibition hall of Shangyuan Art Museum, as the flower and bird paintings of my maternal grandfather Chen Haiping, the landscape paintings of my father Tan Kaiwen, the flower and bird paintings of my mother Chen Lizhu, and the therapy themed works of myself and more than twenty artist friends gradually unfolded, I suddenly felt a clear artistic thread that transcends time. It grew from the tenacity depicted in my grandfather's "Battle Rain, Battle Wind, Battle Frost and Snow", and was settled in the mountains and waters painted by my father's travels throughout Sichuan. Eventually, in the creations of me and my friends, it extended into a warm branch of "art therapy".

My maternal grandfather graduated from Sichuan Art College in 1937. He studied alongside Shi Lu during the Anti Japanese War and became close friends with Wang Chaowen. He also held exhibitions with Lu Yanshao, Guan Shanyue, and others, using the pen and ink of "Peace Dove" to support the resistance against Japan. Even at the age of 92, he still uses "Battle Rain, Battle Wind, Battle Frost and Snow" to tell the story of his unwavering determination despite the vicissitudes of life. Those bright and passionate flowers and birds are his passionate confession to life, a witness to his positive attitude and love for life, and also his way of healing the trauma of the Cultural Revolution. In his paintings, the content and imagery of "withered trees in spring" often appear, which is his monologue of returning to the art world after twenty years of criticism and struggle. It is a reflection of his inner journey of stepping out of the painful memories of the times and regaining a new life.

My maternal grandfather's artistic spirit transformed into an artistic relay baton, passed on to my parents. My father traveled all over Mount Huangshan, Mount Lushan, Mount Jinggang, Mount Guangwu, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and other mountains and rivers of the motherland, blending the preciseness of Song paintings, the tranquility of Yuan paintings, and the light and shadow of western paintings into Bashu landscapes. The ethereal spirit of 'Light-Mist Mountain after Rain', the grandeur of 'Visiting Bashan in October of Golden Autumn', and the wonderful charm in many paintings all reflect his love for mountains, waters, and rivers. He used natural brushstrokes to heal life's troubles and calm his mental anxiety. At the same time, my mother also inherited my maternal grandfather's flower and bird paintings, healing her body and mind in nature.

I hold onto the artistic baton of this family, and after 20 years of systematic art training, 15 years of design practice in China and the United States, traveling to more than 30 countries, and visiting thousand of art museums, I gradually understand that art is not just about passing on techniques, but can also become a soothing force for the soul. Art not only creates cultural value, but also brings therapy to the soul. Whether it's Van Gogh's starry sky, Munch's cry, Pollock's action paintings, or Huang Gongwang's snowy mountains and the solitary birds of the Eight Great Mountain People, they all have a shocking effect on healing the soul.

I grew up in eastern Sichuan to study in Beijing, further my studies in Los Angeles to work in New York, passed down from my family to landscape design, pursued form and spirit of art to seek artistic therapy. I have traveled across the ocean to study alone, started my own business multiple times, experienced severe depression to self heal, and witnessed countries around the world. I have gained a deeper understanding of the good and evil in people's hearts, and have come to appreciate the therapy effect of art on the body and soul. I have transformed decades of artistic accumulation and life insights into the lines full of love and warmth in the "Love Illuminates Life" series, the powerful life energy that has gone through hardships and transformations in the "Rocky Kun" series, and the light that breaks through darkness and explores the possibility of reshaping life in the "Light of Life" photography works. Just as I designed the marriage registration office in Chengdu Guixi Ecological Park to convey love and warmth through space, I also want my pen and ink to become a "light of the soul", illuminating everyone's life and future.Amid the flowing rhythms of music, I innovatively use dance movements as brushes and my body as a medium to unleash the charm of painting. Meanwhile, I subtly integrate the wisdom of psychology and medicine, opening up a path of integrated art therapy that can help all the public leading to deep healing and self-care.

This idea has been compiled into today's invitation. I sent a solicitation letter to artist friends at home and abroad who are interested in art therapy, and unexpectedly received many sincere and overflowing responses: someone used colors to outline "emotional folds"; someone used photography to freeze the 'tiny therapy moment'; someone used nature to build a 'spiritual habitat'... These works are juxtaposed with the paintings of my maternal grandfather and parents, forming a wonderful dialogue - from the spiritual inheritance of traditional brushwork to the therapy energy of contemporary art, we are all telling the story of art healing life in our own ways.

This exhibition does not deliberately showcase skills, only the sincere expression of three generations of inheritance and a group of like-minded people. In the paintings of my maternal grandfather, there is a weight of time; in the mountains and waters of my father, there is a natural poetry; in the flower and bird paintings of my mother, there is inheritance; and in the works of my friends and I, there is a shared exploration of artistic therapy. It can be the calmness brought by a painting, the therapy power bestowed by creation, or the warmth and love transmitted between people through art.

May you stand here and see resilience in Haiping Chen's writings, feel freedom in Kaiwen Tan's landscapes, and find your own 'therapy light' in the works of me and my friends. After all, the ultimate meaning of art has always been to make us embrace ourselves more gently, embrace life, and gain the strength to move forward towards the light.

written on a rainy night on October 12, 2025

Xuan Tan präsentierte in dieser Ausstellung ihre neue Werkreihe „Rocky Kun“ und erläuterte, wie ihre Arbeiten Rockys gesamten Lebensweg von Geburt, Wachstum, Gefangenschaft und Erwachen bis hin zu Widerstand, Wanderung, Rückzug, Transformation, innerer Suche und Wiedergeburt nachzeichnen. Dieser Prozess spiegelt auch die Höhen und Tiefen des Lebens wider und fördert das Streben nach einer besseren Zukunft. Während des gesamten kreativen Prozesses widmete sich Xuan Tan der Selbstkultivierung und erholte sich dabei körperlich und seelisch. Sie stellte außerdem ihre einzigartige Kunsttherapie vor, die Meditation, Tanz zur Musik und Zeichnen mit Händen und Füßen kombiniert, um eine Verbindung zwischen Körper und Geist herzustellen und so Traumata zu behandeln und die Genesung von Körper und Geist zu unterstützen. In ihren Werken verkörpert sie den Geist weiblicher Unabhängigkeit und Selbstverwirklichung und ruft zum spirituellen Aufstieg chinesischer Frauen auf.