As we mentioned in the February issue of the magazine, the first Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary International Watermedia Masters opened Nov. 19 in Nanjing, China, marking the first formal international event of its kind in the country. Cheng-Khee Chee was asked to nominate the American artists who would participate; below is part of a letter he sent to them after he returned to the U.S. from China. How we wish we could’ve attended!


After recuperating for a few days, I am ready to report all the excitement I experienced in China. The following are some highlights.

The welcoming banquet, 6 p.m. Monday night, Nov. 19
The banquet was attended by about 80 people, including exhibiting artists, invited artists, officials of the Jiangsu Union of Literature and Fine Arts, the Jiangsu Watercolor Research Institute and government dignitaries. As always, the banquet was an elaborate feast of 12 courses.

The opening ceremony, 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, Nov. 20
The stage was set at the main entrance of the Nanjing Library, a magnificent ultra modern building. Guests of honor lined up in front of the long silk ribbon adorned with huge silk bouquets. Madam Yang Chengzhi, vice president of the Jiangsu Provincial International Cultural Exchange Association of China, delivered the opening remarks, followed by me representing the exhibiting artists. Twelve people cut the ribbon at the same time, and the show was officially opened. Several hundred visitors swarmed into the exhibition hall. The hall is large, well lit, and paintings were very professionally framed and presented. Paintings were grouped by continent: North America, Europe and Asia. The quality of works seems to vary quite a bit. Our [U.S.] section drew the most attention. It really stole the show!

The watermedia forum, 2-4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 20
About 40 artists, art historians and art critics participated in this forum. Topics included the responses to the show, exchange of ideas of the medium, future plans and supports for similar international activities, and prospects of the watercolor paintings in the future.

The exhibition catalog
The exhibition catalog is elegant! The reproduction quality is super! It is far beyond my expectation! It is sad to know that only 1,000 copies were printed. I understand the various provincial governmental agencies will take a cut of more than half of the edition. They take great pride of this publication and want to present them as handsome gifts.

The travel show planning
The response to the exhibition is overwhelming. Many organizations are already requesting for the show to travel to their areas. After Nanjing, the exhibition will travel to Yangzhou, a historic as well as artistic city northeast of Nanjing. It is well known for the school of eight innovative painters in the Qing Dynasty. We are not sure what other cities the show will go to. Professor Li Chi-mao of the National Taiwan Fine Arts University, who was a guest of honor at the event, is planning to select about half of the show to travel to Taiwan at the end of the Mainland China circuit. It looks like the ball is just beginning to roll! This will give both the artists and the watercolor medium a great exposure.

Other activities, Nov. 21-22
The sightseeing trips included the Ming Tomb, the Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Monument, the Jiangsu Province Art Museum, a boat ride at night on the famous romantic Qinhuai River, and general city tours. I gave a slide presentation and demonstration at the School of Fine Arts of the South East University on Nov. 21.

The farewell banquet, Nov. 23
Most of the guests left. There were only about 20 artists, mostly from outside Mainland China, who attended the banquet. Everyone sat at the same huge round table. It was a warm and cozy atmosphere. As always, the dinner was a 12-course feast!