Pan Dehai is one in the trio of artists known as “Three Swordsman”, three of the most influential Chinese Contemporary Artists highly sought after in the world. In this video, Pan Dehai shares with us the changes in his works during different stages of his career and what art creating means to him.
“My works since the earlier years till now have always had a main direction, that is in relation to life and the people. We all have our individual perspectives towards the society that we are living in, and I want to express my thoughts through the unique language of painting.
During my earlier years of abstract creations and the ‘Open Mountain’ series, I constantly seek for an artistic language that is both expressive of my ideas and understandable to people. This approach gradually evolved into the ‘Youthpox / Corn’ series produced since the late 80s which became more figurative. It maintained my earlier style yet its completely different; its less aggressive, more tranquil and profound in terms of expressing the contents of life and people.
Most of my works are in deeper tones, I personally like a more rich-colored look; but its also not too dark. It provides a nice contrast against the faces of the people and a visual sense of space and depth. I feel that, in today’s contemporary art world, our creations has to reflect our inner-most emotions and experiences. Paint things that touch your heart; objects that can relate to you. Then the art will be meaningful and long lasting, in my opinion.” -Pan Dehai