Dr. He Qi
17 Da Jian Ying Xiang
Nanjing, CHINA, 210029

please check He Qi's website: www.heqiarts.com

Dr. He Qi is a professor at the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and a tutor for master candidate students in the Philosophy Department of Nanjing University. He is also a member of the China Art Association and a council member of the Asian Christian Art Association. He has been committed to the artistic creation of modern Chinese Christian Art for more then twelve years. He hopes to help change the "foreign image" of Christianity in China by using artistic language, and at the same time, to supplement Chinese Art the way Buddhist art did in ancient times. In his works, He Qi has blended together Chinese folk customs and traditional Chinese painting techniques with the western painting art of the Middle and Modern Ages, and has created an artistic style of color-on-paper painting.

Mixing Chinese folk art and modern art styles, He Qi uses a Chinese artistic spirit to break the limits of time and space. He has incorporated many elements and positions to create a series of paintings on Bible stories with a special focus on the life of Jesus.

Mellow and full, calm and straightforwardly sincere, his work incorporates a riot of colors and rich compositions to portray images of Jesus Christ as a messenger of peace and rejoicing.

He Qi strongly expresses a type of aesthetics with a peaceful and stable composition. As humans approach the end of the century with a jumble of conflicting emotions, He Qi affirms, "We need to hear a peaceful voice from the angel in heaven."

Today, he is more able to creatively express the deeper feelings of his inner soul. If art is to move people, it must first move the artist. We need more scholars and artists like He Qi who are able to stir the spirit and enhance the culture's strengths.

The progress of his painting style is recognized by looking at his older and more recent art works. When we compare the painting style of "Saul and David" (which was published in the book "Bible through Asian Eyes") and "Judgment of Solomon" (which was published in the book "Art Works of He Qi") with his recent art works, then we find they really have different styles. Most of his older paintings were done in the Zen Art style. His travel experiences, enabling him to observe both Western and Chinese art styles, have moved him to blend together Chinese folk art and modern art styles in his recent art works.

Following are some comments of He Qi when we asked him about the different styles in his old and new art works:

"Concerning your question about my new painting style compared with my old painting "Saul and David," which was published in the book "Bible through Asian Eyes," you are right, they are really different. My old painting "Saul and David" I painted in a kind of Chinese traditional style--brush and ink with water, which we call "scholarly painting," emphasizing only water and ink without color (also called Zen Art). But for me - as a Christian artist - starting from the story of Creation (Genesis), when God said "Let there be light," he made a colorful world. And as you know, because of my travelling experiences, I have seen so many original works of impressionism, post-impressionism, expressionism, cubism, even American abstract-expressionism....., I am interested in doing a kind of art style which is a mixture of Chinese traditional style and Western modern style. In my point of view, our Chinese traditional art not only includes the "Zen painting" but should also include Chinese folk art and minority national art--which are very colorful!

An interview with He Qi by Ian Groves, the ANS Editor
Four Historical Stages of the Indigenization of Chinese Christian Art, by He Qi

The following are some of He Qi's art works:
Clik here, if you would like to see his art works in thumbnails

Freedom and Peaceful HeQi, 2001

Annunciation 2 Easter Morning 1 Easter Morning 2 Elijah and the Ravens Escape to Egypt Finding of Moses He is Risen 1 He is Risen 2 He is Risen 3 Judgment of Solomon Pilate Washing His Hands Praying at Gethsemane Resurrection 3 Resurrection - Two Women Saul and David 1 Saul and David 2 The Dream of Jacob The Good Samaritan The Samaritan Women The Song of Angels The Song of Resurrection The Women Caught in Adultery