Lu Xun's Legacy: Print Making in China - at The Brunei Gallery

This touring exhibition of Chinese woodblock prints has been to Durham and Edinburgh before coming to the Brunei Gallery on SOAS University Campus, from 20th January-19th March 2022. The exhibition holds over 180 woodblock prints with Chinese artists responding to the writer Lu Xun, from the 1930s to the present day.

Mary Ginsberg, the Exhibition Curator for this show explains the three core themes to the woodblock prints, which are: Revolution, Propaganda, and Art. She gives us a whirlwind tour of the expansive collection of prints, demonstrating how often the same artist can display the three core themes, with three completely contrasting styles of painting. The styles range from brightly coloured folk art made for the peasant class, to bold monochrome propaganda with a strong image and message, to peaceful art for arts sake with no hidden meaning or agenda.