Zhang Xuguang 张旭光

Zhang Xuguang, born in 1955, is a native of Anxing County, HeBei Province of China. He learned Chinese calligraphy since he was young under the guidance of his father. He wrote New Year couplets for the fellow villages when he was 10 years old and at 16, his calligraphic works were already in demand. Since 1988, at age 33, he has held a number of solo exhibitions, conducted talks organized by the Chinese Central Television, visited Japan for exchange programs. His participates in a number of important exhibitions, such as the National Calligraphy Exhibition, the Middle-Aged and Young Artists Exhibition, Exhibition of the Selected Works by Calligraphy Masters, etc. His works are carved in stones and displayed at a number of places such as Qu Fu, Yueyang Lou, and are collected by and displayed at places such as Zhongnanhai – the central headquarters for the Chinese government, the Great Hall of the People, the National Art Museum of China, the China Military Museum, and countries such as Japan, Korea, European countries and the USA.

He held and is still holding a number of senior positions in the governmental units and art organisations. In 2008, he became the Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Artists Association.

His calligraphic style follows closely that of two-wangs (the great calligraphy master Wang Xizhi and his son Xianzhi) in Jin dynasty, advocating the artistic rhymes and resonance with charm. He has spent much time copying and enjoying the works of two-wangs and calligraphers of Qing and Ming dynasties. The works of two-wangs are characterized by their casual and elegant bearing, and that of Qing and Ming calligraphers reflect the brush strokes that move about freely and quickly, sweep through the length and breadth of the whole piece of calligraphic work. Later, he made adjustments to his style by learning the styles of calligraphers of Song and Ming dynasties, practising on the calligraphic works of Mifu, Yang Ningshi, Wang Duo, Dong Qichang, Sun Guoting, etc. In the process, he developed his own creative ideas with ease and unconsciously, trying to achieve a natural state of peace and simplicity in his works. In writing running scripts, his brush strokes are steady, word structures strict but not harsh. With a touch of beauty, classic elegance and tranquillity of the Southern rubbing style, he is trying to inject the graceful spirit of the old charm into modern orientation. His calligraphic works therefore reflect the richness and meticulousness of brushstrokes, composure and smoothness of brush movements, as well as the vigorous and magnificent classical artistic style.

Zhang advocates ‘re-visiting classics’, and proposes ‘using modern aesthetic sense to discover the trend of the traditional Chinese calligraphy, so that the creative works is originated from the traditional sources and yet riding on the contemporary wave. With fantastic fusion of old and modern, we can march to the future.’ He also proposes a number of ideas, such as ‘be in place and with flavor’, ‘developing new theory on calligraphic rubbings’, and ‘re-vitalizing regular script of Tang dynasty’. His calligraphic works has already had a deep influence in China, forming a main stream calligraphic trend. He is said to be a leading figure in Chinese calligraphic community.

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张旭光，1955年出生，河北安新县人。自幼受庭训研习书法，10岁为乡村书写春联，16岁为人书写轴卷。自1988（33岁）年先后在中国美术馆举办个人作品展，在中央电视台举办讲座，赴日交流讲学。作品多次入选国展、中青展、名家精品展等重大展览；在曲阜、岳阳楼等多处勒石刻碑；被中南海、人民大会堂、中国美术馆、军事博物馆和日本、韩国以及欧美国家收藏。出版有关书法及书法教学专著几十部。

他在不少政府与艺术团体中担任要职。2008年 8月调任到中国美术家协会任副秘书长。

他的行书师法二王一脉，在书法风格上崇尚晋韵。二王的倜傥风流、明清诸家的汪洋恣肆，都曾使他驻足其间、流连忘返。其后他又以宋代和明代书风来调剂，先后广泛涉猎米芾、杨凝式、王铎、董其昌、孙过庭等人法帖，自求新意，随机生发，努力营造着一种平和简静的自然境界。其行书用笔沉着稳健，结体严谨不苟，且兼具南帖秀丽典雅、妙美冲和之长，更着意在气息韵致上古调新纳，绰约其神。这在作品中表现为丰富细致的用笔技巧、沉着畅快的行笔方式和典雅遒丽的艺术格调。

张旭光倡导‘重读经典’，提出‘以现代审美意识开掘书法传统的现代潮流，使创作既从传统长河的源头而来，又站在时代潮头之上，即古即新，走向未来。’他提出的‘到位与味道’、‘发展新帖学’、‘激活唐楷’等思想，以及他的创作，已经广泛影响了中国书坛，形成了主流书风，被称为当代书坛的领军人物。

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