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Du Xiaotong
1972 Born in Shaanxi Province
2009 Obtained Master Degree in Central Academy of Fine Arts, studied under Professor Tang Yongli
Currently work in Yantai

In Du Xiaotong’s early works, the background of paintings is almost vacuum, with close-up naked figures occupying the major part of the paintings. Without any background or clothing, it peels off human’s social attribute and highlights human pure essence. After 2010, Du Xiaotong began to add some trees or stones as environment of characters in his paintings, which is interrelated and corresponding with human images and serves as the metaphor of cultural meanings of these images. In recent years, Du’s works start to put people in a broader context; both the color and images tend to be minimal and even abstract - two different kinds of grey colors present the sky and water respectively, with the border naturally forming a skyline; the swimming figures embellish the image, unobvious just as the heavens, the earth and mountains, becoming the basic elements of the picture. Compared to the strong visual tension in his early works, Du’s recent works are more dilute and gentle, with a broader realm.
Whether it is creation state or final appearance presented, Du Xiaotong’s works give audience a sense of immersion. Through the colored points and speedy strokes, we can feel that the artist was immersed in his painting, relaxed but excited, sitting cross-legged and undressed. The swimming figure in broad waters in the painting is immersed in the gentle water; he seems to have got rid of gravity and his spirit is also free from the confinement of flesh.

Traditional landscape paintings by literati are not about depicting scenery but to create a spiritual sustenance; freehand sketched flowers, birds, trees and stones are also not limited to image depiction, but to express feelings through creation. So it is with Du Xiaotong’s paintings. The water he painted is where spirit can freely swim; the figure that does not require precise depiction is to convey the artist’s mental state, and he is free existence between earth and sky.
—Chen Lin