The genius artist Huang Yongyu

2023 in the year of the rabbit, a set of “blue rabbit” zodiac stamps has caused hot debate, and the network has mixed reviews on it. On January 5, Huang Yongyu, 99, the pattern maker of this set of stamps, responded to everyone through a video, he said, “Drawing a rabbit stamp is a happy thing, everyone will draw a rabbit, not me alone will draw it, draw it to make everyone happy, to congratulate the New Year.”

Kui-mao zodiac stamp

On June 13, 2023, Huang Yongyu died of illness, which once again attracted wide attention and made people look back at the artist’s unusual life experience.

Huang Yongyu only went to primary school and incomplete junior high school, but he became a professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and vice chairman of the China Artists Association with his well-known printmaking works and extremely high artistic achievements at home and abroad. Huang Yongyu, who taught himself art and literature, was later called a generation of “ghosts.” Works related to him frequently cause waves in the collection world.

The first zodiac stamp issued by China Post is the monkey ticket of the Year of Gengshen. The monkey ticket was designed by Huang Yongyu and has become a legend in the collecting world. Tickets are hard to come by and worth a fortune.

Gengshen Year monkey ticket

In the Beijing Poly 2022 Autumn Auction “Modern and Contemporary Art Evening”, Huang Yongyu’s “Flowers are Beautiful”, after 14 times of fierce bidding, finally 4.6 million yuan fell, and 5.29 million yuan of commission was sold, breaking the highest record of Huang Yongyu’s oil paintings.

So, what is unique about Huang Yongyu’s works?

First, “graphic complementary” comics

Many of Huang Yongyu’s works are full of fun and innocence, like the blue rabbit image on the stamp of the Year of the Rabbit. This is because in the 1920s and 1930s, modern art entered Shanghai at that time, including many comic periodicals. Influenced by visual culture such as magazines, architecture, advertising and art exhibitions, Huang Yongyu combines modern art with local painting. At the same time, Huang Yongyu also added a lot of words to express his subjective feelings and opinions.

“Blooming Flowers” by Huang Yongyu

Second, “ancient and modern” ink painting

Huang Yongyu is good at oil painting, but most of his works are ink paintings. Influenced by Western painting, Huang Yongyu’s ink painting can break the shackles of tradition and carry on more independent expression. It is commendable that his ink painting has not lost the spirit of traditional literati painting, and the modern line language combines the traditional cultural connotation, and the two are perfectly integrated.

Third, eclectic color

Chinese painting pays attention to color into ink, “plan white when black”, while Huang Yongyu is the opposite way, boldly “show white with black”. Huang Yongyu’s works are unforgettable with bold colors. Dark red, mixed white, ochre black, purple blue are his favorite colors. In some works, he brushes brown, black and other strong colors directly on the background of the picture, forming a strong personal style.