Christmas, 1990, by Xu Dongdong. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

From imagism to abstractionism

In the 1980s, Xu brought forward the concept of Chinese abstract painting, which is to include abstract elements in traditional Chinese paintings.

He says he wants to cultivate Chinese people's interest and inclination of abstract thinking.

Xu's abstractionism is quite different from many other artists who just intimate. Xu, however, searches for the concept of abstractionism from ancient Chinese philosophy and fuses it with the abstract way of thinking in the western art, establishing a unique style which reflects Chinese people's spirits.

The transition from traditional freehand brushwork to abstract art is not an easy road; Xu had gone through much hardship.

He thinks that Chinese people are good at figurative painting, but weak in abstract painting, thus they will easily ignore the deep meanings.

He hopes to introduce Chinese people to the abstract way of thinking through his brush. "To bring abstract thinking back to Chinese culture", in Xu's words, this also meets the demands of modern era.