The "Construction of Color - Rubens (China) Color Experience Interactive Workshop" will be held at Gen Gallery on December 5.

On the afternoon of December 5, 2023, the event "Constructing with Colors: Rubens (China) Color Experience and Interaction" was successfully held at Geng Gallery. The event was co-hosted by Geng Gallery founder and independent artist Li Ruoheng, along with Alexander Kroll, the guest artist of the exhibition Wildflower Rhapsody, and Rubens, a renowned domestic paint brand. Together, they shared practical insights into the use of color in artistic creation. Special guests included celebrated artist Ni Jun; Kang Wenfeng, director of the Wenzhou Times Art Museum; and artists Liu Haigang, Yu Xuemin, Ye Yong, Xu Shao, Chen Yun, as well as Professor Wu Xiaohu and his students from the Li Keran Academy of Painting's Advanced Research Program on Water-Based Media Painting. Attendees engaged in discussions and hands-on experiences exploring the application of Rubens’ full range of artist-grade products in creative practice.

Curator of Geng Gallery, Li Zheng

Share the collaborative vision between Geng Gallery and the Rubens brand

"Thank you to all our guests and audience members for participating in this event. At Geng Gallery, we not only strive to expand art resources and contribute to the development of the art market but also actively embrace our social responsibility in promoting aesthetics and art education. Profit is not necessarily the primary goal of a gallery; rather, providing comprehensive services to artists is the essence of Geng Gallery.

Paints are materials that every artist must engage with. Through the event 'Constructing with Colors: Rubens (China) Color Experience and Interaction,' we hope to help artists and art enthusiasts explore the unique characteristics of various paints, addressing some of the challenges and difficulties artists face in their creative processes right from the source.

In the Wangjing area of Beijing, Geng Gallery will establish the city's first Rubens Color Experience Center. We also plan to initiate and organize special projects on material science and color theory. Our aim is to introduce more artists and art enthusiasts to Rubens, a domestic brand, allowing them to experience the innovative creative possibilities brought by Rubens’ color products and the charm of working with diverse mixed media materials."

Li Ruoheng, founder of Geng Gallery and independent artist

shared insights on the future prospects of utilizing Rubens' integrated materials

"An artist's creation is inseparable from high-quality pigments, as the difference in the visual impact of works created with pigments of varying quality is significant. Good pigments produce strong and precise color effects. The durability of the materials is directly linked to the long-term preservation of the artwork, preventing issues like yellowing or cracking, which ensures that the artwork can endure for generations. Therefore, artists must be very cautious when selecting their pigments.

As an artist, I have been using Rubens pigments since 2012, and their color purity and transparency have perfectly met my creative needs.

I enjoy expressing artistic language through the combination of mixed materials and techniques. First, I use pastel or oil sticks to create sketches, then use turpentine to soften parts of the lines. I emphasize the traces of the creative process using mixed materials, which is also an exploration of technique and procedural themes in contemporary art. Rubens' full range of products—including oil paints and media, pastels, oil sticks, watercolors, and Chinese painting pigments—provides artists with the opportunity to fully integrate and innovate with mixed media materials."

Artist Alexander Kroll shared

"In my solo exhibition 'Wildflower Rhapsody,' all the works were created using Rubens pigments, and the results are truly stunning. During my visit to the Rubens headquarters, I had the opportunity to try many of their other products, and I had a fantastic color experience!

My works are very contemporary, but I use only classical mediums such as turpentine and linseed oil. My creations are generally based on figurative images, and the colors I use are highly symbolic. The Rubens Artist Series pigments are vibrant, with excellent thickness and spreadability, allowing me to create smooth or textured surfaces and spatial effects in my paintings.

Like many artists, I am often inspired by a specific color, which leads to a series of works. For this exhibition, I used a lot of bright red, a color that not only represents the tulip flowers but also reflects my skin tone. Therefore, these works can be seen both as self-portraits and still lifes, which is quite interesting. Rubens’ oil paints offer over 200 colors, giving me the opportunity to select shades that represent my own style. I am truly grateful for this opportunity."

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About Rubens

Rubens is a high-end pigment brand independently developed by Shanghai Aowen Art Materials Co., Ltd. Aowen has been deeply engaged in the art materials industry for many years, aiming to create a world-class national brand and promote the beauty of art.

Rubens inherits from Belgium, the birthplace of European oil painting, and through over 150 years of meticulous hand grinding craftsmanship, it draws on the best practices from various traditions. The company adheres to the use of traditional stone grinding tools and manual methods for pigment processing, selecting only pure, gemstone-grade pigments to ensure the development of high-end, durable color paints with exceptional characteristics such as vibrant colors, high transparency, fine texture, and excellent expressiveness.

With the philosophy of serving artists, Rubens has dedicated itself for decades to providing artists with high-quality painting materials and related services. It strives to revive national enterprises and create China’s own internationally renowned brand.

About Artist

Ruoheng Li

Young Artist

Master’s degree in Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art, UK

Bachelor’s degree from the ArtCenter College of Design, USA

Represented the Ministry of Culture of China at the Los Angeles Art Expo

Taught in Madagascar, Africa, in 2019

Specializes in multi-media artistic creation, including mixed media painting, printmaking, photography, installation, and more. His works have been exhibited and collected in multiple countries.

Alexander Kroll

Professor in the Painting Department at Art Center College of Design, USA, and professional artist

His works are collected and exhibited in the United States, the UK, Switzerland, and other countries

Kroll excels in abstract art expression with bold use of color. Through the exploration of visual language, the interaction of elements such as line and plane, form and color, space and time, he infuses his works with dynamic, ethereal thoughts, achieving a harmonious balance.