Renowned Chinese calligrapher and artist Shi Chengfeng donated two of his works to museum

The agreement for this donation was reached by Alexey Kharyutkin, Deputy Director of the Museum, who visited the artist's workshop during his trip around the People's Republic of China. Mr. Shi was excited to be invited to the first Russian exhibition of Chinese paintings and calligraphy of this scale. The event, called The Great Chinese Calligraphy and Painting, is designed to celebrate a remarkable date – the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relationships between Russia and the People's Republic of China. His unique feature is equal mastership of oil painting, and traditional Chinese calligraphy and ink painting techniques.

Shi Chengfeng was born in Tangyin, Henan province, in 1937. In March 1955 he volunteered to go to the North Korea. In 1958 he quit the military service and entered a bachelor degree course at the department of arts in Beijing Art Normal University, and also joined an acting class in Beijing National Art Theatre.

Currently he is holding the positions of Deputy Chairman in Beijing Painting Society, a member of the Artistic Committee in Xu Beihong district, a member of the Beijing Association of Artists and the Beijing Association of Calligraphers, an honoured Professor in the Institute of Arts and Calligraphy of the Chinese Society of Fantasy Authors, and a member of the Chinese National Association of Prominent People.

In 1994 he was included to the catalogue of Chinese writers and artists named “Who is Who in the Contemporary Chinese Art”, and later in 1997 China International Exchange Press publishing house put him on the “World. Who’s Who” list. In 1982 he founded his first art gallery in Beijing, and followed with opening Chengfeng’s Beijing Art Gallery, the largest private gallery on Wang Fu Jing street, occupying as much as 1700 sq.m.

Since his first exhibition back in 1956, Chengfeng had dozens of exhibitions in the People’s Republic of China and other countries. His works were exhibited in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore and elsewhere, in the regional museums of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and many other countries. His painting “The Great Wall” was picked as a gift for the Major’s office in Beijing in 1993. Marshall Nie Rongzheng donated the artist’s “Great Wall of Heroes” in 1999 to the members of the Central Military Council, Liu Huaqing and Zhang Zhen. Chengfeng’s “National Soul” is a part of the permanent exhibition in Hu Yaobang’s Memorial Hall, dedicated to the national hero of the People’s Republic of China since 2005. In 2001 the national post office of the People’s Republic of China issued an anniversary stamp named “Shi Chengfeng’s Art of Oil Painting – The Great Wall”. In 2007 Chengfeng held a personal exhibition of oil paintings in the National Library.