An exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" was jointly launched by Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (BMFA), the Beijing Fine Art Academy (BFAA) and the China International Arts Exhibition Agency (CIAEA) at the first floor of the BMFA in Boston of the United States on May 9 (local time).

The opening ceremony drew the attendance of China's Consul General in New York Chen Li, Member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Marla Dolan, Director of the BMFA Matthew Teitelbaum, Director of the BFAA Wu Hongliang, Director Designate of the BMFAPierre Terjanian, Exhibition Planner Yu Yu, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Professor of Asian Art at Harvard University Eugene Y. Wang, CIAEA Representative Li Tiantian, and nearly 100 guests from all social sectors in Boston.

Matthew Teitelbaum, director of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, attend and addresses the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" in Boston of the United States on May 9 (local time).

In a welcome address at the inaugural ceremony, Teitelbaum said that the cooperation between the BMFA and China dates back to 1981 and that latest exhibition will further deepen and expand profound artistic bond between the two sides. He noted that those exhibited paintings by Qi have not only been extraordinary representatives of Chinese arts but also transcended beyond cultural boundaries and allowed the American audience to better appreciate the charm and wisdom of Chinese arts. He added that Qi's artistic works will strike a chord with American people.

Marla Dolan, a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council, attend and addresses the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" in Boston of the United States on May 9 (local time).

Dolan spoke highly of the significance of the special exhibition to the China-US cultural exchanges. Noting that arts know no borders, she said that the exhibition of Qi's paintings in Boston will provide American people with a valuable opportunity to further understand traditional Chinese culture and artistic beliefs and strengthen mutual understanding and friendship between people of the two nations.

Chen Li, China's consul general in New York, attend and addresses the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" in Boston of the United States on May 9 (local time).

Chen said that Boston, one of famous historical and cultural cities in the US, has been always at the forefront of the cultural exchanges between the two nations. The Boston Symphony Orchestra was the first American orchestra to visit China and the BMFA was the first American museum to hold an exhibition in China after the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979. The organization of such a high-level exhibition will further promote artistic exchanges and strengthen the people-to-people bond between China and the US, underscoring common values cherished by the eastern and western civilizations.

Noting that art is a bridge can transcend national borders and connect peoples' hearts and minds, Chen called on people from all social sectors in the two countries to write a new chapter of the China-US people-to-people exchanges with concerted efforts.

Wu Hongliang, head of Beijing Fine Art Academy, attend and addresses the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" in Boston of the United States on May 9 (local time).

Wu said that the exhibition of Qi's masterpieces will help American people better appreciate the vitality and creativity of traditional Chinese art. He added that the artistic beauty of his work is expected to build a bridge connecting the soul of people from the two countries and deepen their mutual understanding and friendship.

Representative attendees pose for a group photo at the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" in Boston of the United States on May 9 (local time).

The special exhibition's title comes from a seal, on which Qi engraved these words: "I'm old, in good health, and not envious of (the benefits of) being an immortal". The painter was born in 1864 and passed away at the age of 93. During his legendary life, he experienced the vicissitudes of 19th and 20th-century China, which ranged from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to the Republic of China era (1911-49) and the People's Republic of China. Born of humble rural origin in Xiangtan of Central China's Hunan province, he was first a carpenter, a portrait maker, then a seal engraver in Beijing. He reformed ink art and became accomplished in his 50s. He was determined to depict whatever he saw and felt. His strokes hailed the greatness of nature, mountains, rivers, and small things like flowers, trees, fish and buds, revealing his life's simple pleasures. It was not only the first time for the BMFA to systematically display Qi's paintings in the history but also would provide international audiences with a fresh perspective to appreciate the inheritance and transformation of Chinese ink art as well as its enduring charm.

Photo taken on May 9 (local time) shows the exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" in Boston.

People visit the exhibition titled "Qi Baishi: Inspiration In Ink" in Boston on May 9 (local time).

A painting created by renowned Chinese painter Qi Baishi and collected by Boston's Museum of Fine Arts

During the special exhibition, the BMFA also displayed its rare collection of Qi's painting, which was titled "Two Mice Reading by Candlelight" and created by him on a spring night in 1935. He took a brush to portray the whimsical scene when he found that two mice were running on his book under a candlelight. The work, donated by female Chinese painter Fang Junbi in early 20th century, successfully depicted normal life of mice from a unique artistic perspective and underscored civilization exchanges as well as development.

The cooperation between the CIAEA and the BMFA can be traced back to 1980s. Early in 1981, the two companies jointly held an exhibition on American paintings from the BMFA, marking the beginning of the visit of world-class artistic institutions in China and an important milestone of cultural exchanges between China and other nations since the launch of the reform and opening-up policy. They again co-hosted an exhibition after a span of over four decades, fully leveraging the CIAEA's cultural heritage and international communication channels and achieving the systematic presentation of Qi's paintings in a world-class artistic agency.

At the opening ceremony, CIAEA Representative Li sent to Teitelbaum a commemorative album of the BMFA's first exhibition on American paintings in China in 1981 to cherish the precious years of bilateral cooperation over the decades and look forward to bright future of future collaboration. Those yellowish book pages contained precious moments of the epoch-making exhibition, which not only reviewed bilateral cooperation in the past decades and further deepened their cooperation willingness.
As a reciprocal gesture, Teitelbaum presented to the CIAEA an album of Chinese paintings collected by the BMFA. He said that the album conveyed huge attention and research taken by the artistic institution to the Chinese arts, and added that the two companies should grasp the exhibition as a new opportunity to engage in more diverse and in-depth cooperation in the years ahead.

An archive held by China International Arts Exhibition Agency about the first exhibition of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts on American paintings in China in 1981

Matthew Teitelbaum (L), director of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and Li Tiantian, a representative of China International Arts Exhibition Agency, exchange photo albums on the sidelines of the special exhibition in Boston.

The special exhibition will run till Sept 28.