Exhibition View of "Take Dreams as Steeds: Exhibition for the Bingwu Chinese New Year"
Organized by the Beijing Fine Art Academy, "Take Dreams as Steeds: Exhibition for the Bingwu Chinese New Year" brings together works centered around the classic cultural image of the "horse," covering various artistic genres, including traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, sculpture, and multimedia. It presents the spiritual lineage of the "horse" throughout the river of art—from cultural symbolism to aesthetic expression.
Exhibition View of "Take Dreams as Steeds: Exhibition for the Bingwu Chinese New Year"
The exhibition takes "post station" as its spatial imagery and unfolds three chapters:
The first chapter showcases artists who build dreams with their brush and ink, inviting viewers into the pictorial realm. The second chapter delineates the creators who express their aspirations for the era through the strokes of their brushes and convey their ideals for the times in the shades of ink. The third chapter interprets each painting as a vessel of historical memory, with meticulous brushwork and freehand strokes concealing profound contemplation. Each work on exhibit is a "letter" traversing time and space, with the "horse" serving as the messenger bearing millennia of cultural heritage. Visitors may take on the role of "postmasters," "unfold" artists' innermost emotions within the brushwork step by step as they move through the shifting scenes, and embark on a cultural journey that begins with their inner dreams, passes through the vivid battlefield, and arrives at historical memory.
Qi Baishi, Thousand-mile Horse, 1940. Ink on paper, 69x34cm.
Xu Beihong, Galloping, 1942. Ink on paper, 93x61cm.
The exhibition starts with masterpieces by Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong, highlighting works by renowned artists from the Beijing Fine Art Academy. It also introduces contemporary artists' interpretations and expressions of the horse. From ancient times to the present, Chinese people have taken dreams as their steeds, journeying toward the light and embedding their heartfelt passions and aspirations for a better life in calligraphy and painting works. This exhibition connects millennial yearning with artistic expressions, enabling viewers to feel the spirited vigor of the horse and appreciate the beautiful blessings hidden within art through their dialogue with these works.
Peng Xiancheng, Song of Weicheng, 2003. Ink and color on paper, 76x46cm.
Xu Lei, Empty, 1997. Ink and color on silk, 130x65cm.
Xiang Jing, Otherworld—Will Things Ever Get Better, 2011, 215x265x129cm.
Yu Fan, Corsswind No. 3, 2013, 76x20x108cm.
Dai Yun, Saluzi, One of the Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum, 220x17x175cm.
Qi Baishi's Thousand-mile Horse from his series Twelve Zodiac Animals, is specially presented at the exhibition. The venerable master rarely painted horses, however, he captured a horse breaking free from its reins with remarkably sparse lines in this painting. Without deliberately seeking a majestic steed-like quality, it features a unique, innocent simplicity and charm. The recently viral sketchy little horse character "Ma Biaobiao" was inspired by it. Later on, the Thousand-mile Horse, together with other works of the Twelve Zodiac Animals, will travel to the Shandong Art Museum for a refreshed exhibition Those Who Learn from Me Shall Thrive—Qi Baishi and His Disciples from Shandong.
About the Exhibition
Dates: February 11–March 22, 2026
Venue: The Art Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy
Courtesy of the Art Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy
Text (CN) by Wu Yunhong and Hao Xi, edited (EN) by CAFA ART INFO.
