Matisse’s first China exhibition takes Beijing by storm

The influence of Matisse and Fauvism on Chinese modern art is also spotlighted at the artist’s China solo. Through archival materials and works by major artists including Liu Haisu (1896-1994), Ting Yin Yung (1902-1978) and Guan Liang (1900-1986), UCCA deputy director of research Huang Jiehua traced how Matisse’s art spread from France to China (often via Chinese artists studying in Japan), and how his style influenced the modern painting movement that emerged from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Matisse’s invention of paper cut-outs, a breakthrough in the later years of his artistic career, is another highlight of the UCCA show. Calling the technique “drawing with scissors”, Matisse initially used paper cut-outs for testing ideas for larger works of art. He sliced sheets of colored paper in long, sinuous lines, which produced elegant, minimal and immediately appealing artworks. Many works on view show his paper cut-outs used in the design of murals, textiles, stained glass windows, books and more.

In 2014, the Tate Modern in London and MoMA in New York mounted large-scale exhibitions showing only Matisse’s cut-outs, which emphasized the artist’s renewed commitment to form and color in the final chapter of his long career. Exhibition designer Pascal Rodriguez also borrowed inspiration from this medium when designing the roofs of UCCA’s gallery spaces, which evoke the openings left by the artist’s cut-outs.