Chinese folk painting covers a great deal of ground, from New Year prints to temple murals, but Huxian is the one place in the country that produced a named school of painting made by farmers about farming. It began in the 1950s, when art teachers in the county near Xi'an encouraged villagers to draw and paint their own lives, and it developed into a distinctive tradition that has been exhibited abroad for decades and is still practised.
The style
Huxian paintings are instantly recognisable. The colours are flat and saturated - strong reds, blues, greens and yellows laid next to each other without much shading - and the composition is dense, filling the whole surface with figures, animals, crops, tools, houses and pattern. Perspective is decorative rather than literal: the artist piles up what matters to the scene and sizes things by importance. Subjects are the working year - planting and harvesting, threshing, orchards and vineyards, pigs and chickens, village weddings and temple fairs, embroidery and cooking - and the mood is festive rather than documentary. The result sits somewhere between a poster and a tapestry.
Seeing the work
The county has a gallery devoted to the tradition, with a permanent collection and rotating shows, and it is the place to see both the early work of the 1950s and 1960s and what is being painted now. Because the painting is a living practice rather than a museum subject, painters often work in adjoining studios, and several workshops and family studios around the county sell originals and reproductions directly. Prices vary with the reputation of the painter; a signed original by an established artist is a serious purchase, while a small decorative piece is inexpensive and easy to carry.
Practical notes
Huxian, now a district of Xi'an, is about an hour south-west of the city centre by road, and the gallery and studios are best reached by car or taxi. Opening hours are normal working hours and the gallery closes on one weekday, so check before travelling. The district is also where the Caotang Temple and the Chongyang Palace are found, which makes a worthwhile half or full day when combined with them. If you buy a painting, ask for it rolled rather than folded and declare it if it is a large or valuable original.
