Inheritance and Research: The “Hubei Phenomenon” of Watercolor Painting in the National Art Exhibition

Due to the excellent art education tradition and the systematic construction of watercolor painting discipline, Hubei watercolor has achieved remarkable outcomes in national art exhibitions and various exhibitions at all levels since the 1980s. Comparatively speaking, Hubei watercolor is focused on “production”, and the works of a group of watercolor painters, such as Liu Shouxiang and Xu Haigang, have made great breakthroughs in materials, techniques and language compared with those of their predecessors, and the visual and expressive power of their works have effectively supplemented the consistent “ relaxation of depiction” of watercolor paintings, greatly enhancing the quality of watercolor paintings, and improving the quality of their works. The emergence of the “Hubei Phenomenon” in the field of watercolor painting in the National Art Exhibition is closely related to Hubei's own art education foundation, art theory and criticism environment, and the construction of the watercolor painting academy disciplinary system, and the academy's watercolor teaching plays an irreplaceable and constructive role in the inheritance of watercolor techniques and the exploration of the language of contemporary watercolor.