These over 140 works were created in different eras and feature scenes from all over China. The subjects range from early black-and-white photography, mid-period color film, to later digital images, representing a distillation of Jian Qingfu's over 70 years of artistic creation and showcasing some of his best photographic works.
Born in Hong Kong, Jian Qingfu has a deep connection with Shanghai. In the 1940s, he attended the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts to study painting, where he was influenced by his mentor Zhang Renlong and fellow student Liu Xucang, developing a passion for the art of photography. Since the 1930s, Jian Qingfu's photographic creativity has never ceased, and even at over ninety years of age, he continues to create. His early subjects were primarily focused on social documentaries, gradually transitioning to artistic landscapes, with numerous remarkable pieces, some of which have even traveled to space with Shenzhou spacecraft.
On the day of the donation, Jian Qingfu's “fans” filled the venue. When the organizers suggested he say a few words to the audience, the spirited Jian Qingfu, dressed in a black and yellow casual outfit, simply replied, “You ask the questions, I will answer.” An audience member who had visited Jian Qingfu's photography exhibition 30 years ago brought along a well-preserved catalog from that time, prompting Jian Qingfu to flip through the catalog and vividly recall the scenes and locations of the works...
This is not Jian Qingfu's first donation to Shanghai. As early as 1982, he donated a villa on Huashan Road to the Shanghai Photographers Association as a meeting site; in 2001, at the request of Cheng Shifa, he donated 74 masterpieces by Guan Liang to the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, but this donation marks his first contribution to a public museum.
In December last year, the exhibition “Light and Shadow Over the Years - Jian Qingfu Photography Art Exhibition” was held at the China Art Palace, attracting nearly 90,000 visitors in just over 60 days due to its simple and refined artistic charm. Now, this batch of works is permanently collected at the China Art Palace and is regarded by the industry as a reflection of the complete historical context of modern and contemporary Chinese photography, providing significant value for academic referencing and research on contemporary photography.
The China Art Palace also intends to share the collection through more exhibition formats in the future, allowing art enthusiasts to collectively appreciate the artistic moments of artists like Jian Qingfu.
