"Whether scenery, people, life or art, my standard is 'naturalness'. I love painting simple natural scenes and rural houses. I like rubbing shoulders with frank and natural friends. In life, I am partial to let nature take its own course. I take pleasure in artwork bursting with passion and yet awash with innocence and naturalness."

Qi Deyan

Qi Deyan is a renowned and eminent Chinese artist whose works have received critical acclaim throughout the world. His works display a deep admiration, awe and passion for the grandeur hidden in the simplicity of nature. His talent of transforming the mundane into beauty has attracted great respect for his works.

Qi Deyan will exhibit his latest watercolour works in Chapel on Station Gallery from 28 April 2006 to 11 May 2006.

Qi Deyan is a Professor of Fine Arts and Environmental Design at the Chongqing University in Chongqing City, China. While pursuing his love of watercolour, he is currently teaching and researching environmental design and fine arts.

He is a Council Member of the National Chinese Watercolourists Association and the President of the Chongqing Watercolourists Association. He is listed in the Renowned Contemporary Artists of China, a respected publication. When visiting Melbourne in 2002, he was granted honorary membership of the Victorian Watercolourists Association by the Victorian Watercolour Society.

His studies in design led him to increasingly paint in the medium of watercolour. He is also a sophisticated traditional Chinese ink brush artist and oil painter. He has produced and remains active in producing a great number of fine works.

From Early Success in China

Qi Deyan

Qi Deyan's oil paintings were recognised for their talent and ability since the early 1960's when his oil works were first displayed in the prestigous National Art Exbitiion and were collected by several museums including the Chinese National Museum and the Museum of Jiangxi Province.

Qi Deyan now works primarily with watercolour, enjoying the same success and recognition as during his early years. His works have frequently appeared in the National Art Exhibition. Several works have been collected and form part of the permanent display of the Chinese National Muesum. He has also held numerous exhibitions in major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guiyang and Chongqing.

In 1987 he was commissioned to create a mural at Chengdu Railway Station. The task was particularly challenging due to the sheer size and magnitude of creating a mural to stretch around the main entrance hall to the station. The finished work was 36 metres x 7.8 metres and was named The Shu Mountainscape. It is a highly acclaimed monument and was given the "Most Excellent Work Award" in the Sixth National Chinese Fine Art Exhibition.

In 1987 he published his first book of works, "The Works and Artistry of the Watercolour of Qi Deyan".

To International Recognition

Qi Deyan in Paris

From 1988 and continuing to the present day, Qi Deyan has increasingly enjoyed international recognition, visiting numerous countries in his artistic activities.

In 1988, Professor Qi was invited to visit Canada by the University of Manitoba. He spent time as a visiting professor teaching fine art. He also held a one-man exhibition which was very successful. While in North America, he took the opportunity to visit many places in Canada and the United States and further develop his artworks.

Further Success At Home and Abroad

Qi Deyan in Australia

On his return from Canada, Qi Deyan continued to excel as an artist. In 1990, he was awarded one of the most prestigious prizes in the China - the Gold Horse Prize for his entry in the National Watercolour Exhibition.

Japan is another place where Qi Deyan has met great success. In 1994 and 1996, Deyan held a joint exhibition with his wife Chang Lian Yu in Nagano Prefecture and Waseda University in Tokyo. His works have been very well received in Japan and both exhibitions sold out completely!

In 1995, Qi Deyan published his second book of works, "Current Architectural Drawing - the watercolour of Qi Deyan", which incorporated paintings during his visits to Canada and Japan.

In 1998, he was invited to return to Canada by the Winnepeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre for a second time where he held a personal exhibition of his works in Wiinnipeg and Calgary. In recognition of his cultural contributions, he was awarded honorary citizenship by the Government of Winnipeg.

In 1998, Professor Qi's two earlier books were shown to Prince Charles when a colleague was visiting England. Charles was most impressed by Professor Qi's technique and personally sent him a letter of appreciation and a copy of his own book of watercolour paintings.

"They [the watercolours] have given me great pleasure and I am enormously impressed by the sheer competence of your work, not to metion the wonderful wetness you achieve with your use of paint"
- Charles, the Prince of Wales 1998.

In 1998, Qi Deyan was invited to participate in the Chinese National Art Exposition in Beijing. The Exposition featured a gathering of the most talented artists from China to come together to display their works. Qi Deyan's entry, Red Boat, was very well received.

He also published his third book "Watercolour - a textbook for the teaching of fine arts".

In January 2000, Deyan, together with his wife and son Qi Ping, was invited to hold an exhibition in the Ibaraki Prefecture Contemporary Art Gallery. The exhibition was very successful and the three contemporary artists have been invited to come again in the future.

Recent art activities

In 2000, Deyan and Lian Yu visited Australia for three months. They toured around Melbourne, rural Victoria, Sydney and Canberra taking photographs of architecture and design and well as completing many paintings of Australia.

In 2002, Deyan was invited to hold a one-man exhibition of his latest contemporary watercolour at East & West Art in East Kew, Melbourne. The exhibition was a great success. Louise Folletta, renowned local artist, opened Qi Deyan’s exhibition with an insightful speech to the packed gallery. Throughout the two weeks that the works were exhibited, a great number of visitors attended East & West Art with a majority of the works exhibited being sold during the exhibition.

In 2003, Qi Deyan published “The Environment Design of Australia”, a collection of photographs and commentary on Australian environmental design in both urban and rural areas. The book has been highly acclaimed in China.

In 2005, Qi Deyan was awarded a fellowship to attend an artists residency in Paris, France near Notre Dame Cathedral. He spent over a month travelling throughout France and Europe finishing a number of works as well as undertaking an exhibition.

In 2005, Deyan was again invited to exhibit his works in Australia at the Chapel on Station Gallery from 28 April 2006 to 11 May 2006

He has just published a retrospective of his life and works.