The Wizard Artist――Xiao Kuan

Xiao Kuan， originally named as Xiao Shukuan， used the pseudonym of Hai River and Summer Wind. He was born in Tianjin on September 15， 1949， but his ancestral home is in Cangzhou city， Hebei province. He is a member of Chinese Artists Association， a member of Chinese Association of Graphic Artists， an expert in logo designing in China， a researcher of China Bookplate Research Institute， and a painter at Xinhua Calligraphy and Painting. He once served as a member of the organizing committee for China Graphic Art for Children， Vice Secretary General of Jerim Artists' Association， President of Khorchin Cartoon Society， Secretary General of Oil Painting Research Institute， President of Northern Xinjiang Poetic Society， and President of branch academic journal of China Calligraphy and Painting Correspondence University， among other job titles， from which one can easily know that Xiao Kuan lives up to the title of "wizard artist".

As a painter， Xiao once said， "calligraphy and painting is the quintessence of China， and the expression of life is more suitable to the circumstances of China. Whether notice it or not， while we have exerted a bigger impact towards the world economically， we fall short of one thing―the spread and promotion of our quintessence culture. We not only missed this， but also neglected the intangible asset bestowed by our ancestors. As a Chinese artist， I'd like to demonstrate the society of China through China's quintessence culture―calligraphy and painting."

The famous graphic artist and educationist Li Ye said in the preface he wrote to the graphic art exhibit of Xiao Kuan， "…Xiao Kuan's woodcutting works are noted for its simplicity. He uses decorative folk art style and strong art language to show the life， feelings， hopes， ideals and customs of herdsmen in depth and great detail， giving audience good food for thought. I believe that these woodcut with rich content， clean cut， and sharp contrast of black and whine can touch you innermost feeling…" A professor from Lu Xun Art School Li Fulai said in his article The Song of Skylark―an Appreciation of the Woodcut by Xiao Kuan， "The scene showed by the woodcut works of Xiaokuan is so refreshing that it resembles a fresh breeze and bright light. Xiao Kuan used his Skylark voice to sing praise of the land below his feet， his passion towards the grassland. And the honest and sincere feeling demonstrates the precious quality of the artist."