Min Ren (任敏) – Artist Biography & Statement
Born in 1979 in Ningxia, China, graduated from the College of Fine Arts at Ningxia University in 2002, and earned a master’s degree in oil painting from the College of Fine Arts at Shanghai University in 2008. She is a member of the Shanghai Artists Association and the China Artists Association, as well as the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Yanhuang Painting and Calligraphy Art Research Institute. She is a professional painter.
Min’s works are primarily focused on landscapes, characterized by pure colors and a strong sense of form, with a tranquil and distant atmosphere. Beneath the simple and beautiful imagery, there is a revelation of an inner need for nature and a longing for a pure spiritual state. Since 2007, she has emerged from the group of young painters, with her works appearing in various national art exhibitions and winning numerous awards. In 2013, her work won the Excellence Award at the National Oil Painting Exhibition and the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee’s Outstanding Artistic Creation Achievement Award. Her work was twice selected for the National Jinling Top 100 Oil Paintings Exhibition, and in 2016, she was selected for the National Oil Painting Society’s “Visible Poetry” Oil Painting Exhibition, among others. In recent years, many of her paintings have been collected by domestic art museums, art foundations, and private collectors.
“I have gradually transitioned from realism or imagery to the world of expression or symbolism. Although my work’s content and medium are Western, its core artistic philosophy is still rooted in my cultural heritage, expressed as a spiritual need for the cultivation of a complete personality and the release of emotions. If art can be described as the spirit hanging on a wall, then the simplicity, distance, introspection, and purity presented in this series of works can bring a touch of cleansing and inspiration to the modern spirit mired in complexity and pollution.”
“Beauty exists on different levels, and it has healing power. The profound beauty of the world possesses strong healing power, derived from the laws of nature’s composition. When artists imitate nature, they emulate these natural laws rather than merely copying nature’s surface. Emphasizing the surface can lead both artists and viewers away from a more accurate direction. True value lies in revealing, not just reproducing.”
Her representative works include Passing by the Black Steps, The Paradise City, The Clean City, Shanghai 1920: City of Compassion, and series such as The Mystery Voyage Series, The Self-Healing of Mountains and Rivers Series, and The Zen of Objects Series.
任敏 – 艺术家简介
1979年出生于宁夏，2002年毕业于宁夏大学美术学院，2008年毕业于上海大学美术学院，油画专业硕士。上海美术家协会会员，中国美术家协会会员，上海炎黄书画艺术研究院副院长，职业画家。
作品题材多以风景为主，色彩纯净形式感强，气息宁静幽远，简洁唯美的画面背后，透露着一种对自然的内在需要与对清洁的精神境界之慕求。2007年起自青年画家群体中脱颖而出，作品陆续出现在全国各类艺术大展中并屡次获奖。2013年作品获全国油画作品展优秀作品奖，获上海市委宣传部优秀艺术创作单项成果奖；两度入选全国金陵百家油画作品展，2016入选全国油画学会“可见之诗”油画作品展等。近年来画作多为国内美术馆，艺术基金会和私人收藏。
“我从写实或意象逐渐自发地走向了表现或象征的世界，虽然在内容和媒介上是西方的，但其绘画思想的核心还是民族的，表现为一种对完善人格与抒发情志的精神需要。如果说画是挂在墙上的精神，那么这一系列所呈现的简洁、悠远、内照、清净的精神之境，可为沦陷于繁杂与污浊的现代人之精神，带来点点洗涤与启发。 ”
“美是分层次的，美是有治愈力的。天地之大美是有强大治愈力的，这种治愈力来自于她的天地构成法则，而艺术家所谓的模仿自然，是模仿大自然的构成法则，绝不是模仿大自然的表面，对表面的重视只会使我们和读者都偏离更正确的方向。真正的价值在于揭示，而不是再现。”
代表作品有《路过黑色扶梯》，《天堂城》，《清洁之城》，《上海1920—-悲悯之城》，以及《谜航系列》，《山川自愈系列》，《物禅系列》等。
Min Ren – CV
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2018
Third “Most Painting” Chinese Youth Oil Painting Exhibition (National Tour).
2017
Ninth Shanghai Art Exhibition (China Art Museum, Shanghai);
“Century Symphony” — Award of Excellence for the Oil Painting Exhibition on the Centennial Changes of the Bund (Shanghai Liu Haisu Art Museum).
2016
“Wu Dialect” — Shanghai Artists Invitational Exhibition (China Art Museum, Shanghai).
2015
“Trace of Time” — China Jinling Top 100 Paintings Exhibition (Jiangsu Art Museum).
2014
Shanghai Art Exhibition Celebrating the 65th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China and the Selection Exhibition for the 12th National Art Exhibition (China Art Museum, Shanghai).
2013
Seventh Shanghai Art Exhibition (China Art Museum, Shanghai).
2012
Hosted “Clarity of Mind, Encountering Scenes” — a joint oil painting exhibition with Zhang Min, Hu Jining, and Ren Min (Shanghai Art Museum).
2011
“Blooming Years” — Shanghai 70s and 80s Artists Invitational Exhibition (Shanghai Pudong New Library).
2010
“Beyond Reality” — China Jinling Top 100 Oil Paintings Exhibition (Jiangsu Art Museum).
2009
Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition (Shanghai Liu Haisu Art Museum).
2008
National “Spirit of the Times” Oil Painting Exhibition and Collection (Beijing Kaisheng Art Museum）
AWARDS
2016:
The work Voyage Series – Prosperity won First Prize in the Fine Arts category at the 6th Shanghai Citizen Art Exhibition “Glorious Journey.”
2013:
The work Clean City I won the 2013 Shanghai Literature and Art Creation Achievement Award (Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department).
The work Paradise City VIII won First Prize in the “Dreamy Orient” 5th Shanghai Citizen Art Exhibition.
The work Voyage Series – Submergence was selected for the “Growth – 2013 National Youth Art Exhibition” New Star Award (Shanghai China Art Museum).
2010:
The work Paradise City II won the Excellent Work Award and was collected at the “Survival, Harmony, Beauty” Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition for the Shanghai World Expo (Shanghai Charity Foundation).
2007:
The work Passing by the Black Steps won the Excellent Work Award and was collected at the National Second “Scenery and Sentiment” Small-Scale Oil Painting Exhibition (Shanghai Gangtai Art Museum).
任敏 – CV
重要展览
2018 第三届“最绘画”中国青年油画作品展（全国巡展）
2017 第九届上海美术大展（上海中华艺术宫）“百年交响”—外滩百年历史变迁油画作品展获佳作奖 （上海·刘海粟美术馆）
2016 “吴语·方言”—上海艺术家作品邀请展（上海·中华艺术宫）
2015 “时代足迹”中国百家金陵画展（江苏美术馆）
2014 庆祝建国65周年上海美术作品展暨第十二届全国美展选拔展（上海·中华艺术宫）
2013 第七届上海美术大展；（上海·中华艺术宫）
2012 举办“澄怀·遇景逢源—张民、胡继宁 、任敏油画作品三人联展”；（上海·美博会馆）
2011 “绽放年华”上海70、80艺术家邀请展（上海·浦东区新图书馆）
2010 “超越·现实——中国金陵百家油画作品展”（江苏·美术馆）
2009 上海青年美术大展（上海·刘海粟美术馆）
2008 全国“时代精神”油画作品展并获收藏（北京·凯晟美术馆）
获奖
2006
作品《远航系列—繁荣》获“光辉历程”第六届上海市民艺术大展美术专题一等奖
2013
作品《清洁之城一》获2013上海文艺创作单项成果奖（上海市委宣传部）
作品《天堂城之八》获“梦韵东方”第五届上海市民艺术大展一等奖（上海）
作品《远航系列之—-潜出》入选“生长—-2013全国青年美术大展”新星奖
（上海·中华艺术宫）
2010
作品《天堂城二》获 “生存·和谐·美好”上海世博会中国油画作品展优秀作品奖并收藏；
（上海慈善基金会）
2007
作品《路过黑色扶梯》获全国第二届“风景风情”小幅油画作品展优秀作品奖并收藏；
（上海·刚泰美术馆）