“Medicines, Art and Nature: Exhibition of DING Rong’s Paintings about Medicinal Plants” opens on September 19, 2024 and runs through November 18, 2024 at Jiangsu Museum of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China. The exhibition shows 50 works of nearly 30 kinds of medicinal plants painted by Chinese artist DING Rong, including Ginkgo biloba, Cynanchum bungei, Atractylodes lancea, Gardenia jasminoides, Mentha canadensis, Lonicera japonica, Bletilla striata, Astragalus membranaceus, Crocus sativus, etc. The exhibition is hosted by Jiangsu Museum of Chinese Medicine and Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Library and supported by Chinese Painting Institute of Jiangsu Province and China Integration of Medical Care and Pension Association.
DING Rong, Rhododendron simsii, color on rice paper, 2020
With a view to giving audience more knowledge of medicinal plants and arousing people more interest about the connection between medicine and art, the paintings shown in the exhibition are in figurative style, however, the artist has successfully blazed a new trail in the field of figurative painting and presenting audience a unique artistic style with apparent individuality. By bridging the essence of Chinese traditional culture and the modern expression of contemporary art, the exhibition presents a successful example of cross-disciplinary integration of Chinese medicine culture and art aesthetics.
DING Rong, Barley, color on rice paper, 2024
Born in Shanghai in 1970, Ding Rong graduated from the Communication University of China. He is a member of Shanghai Artists Association and Shenzhen Artists Association, and a researcher of Shanghai Xu Beihong Art Research Association. This exhibition is the first show of the painter’s nationwide exhibition tour showcasing the artistic beauty of medicinal plants. The painter has long been trying to reveal the art and culture significance of medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese medicine through his art practice.
DING Rong, Ginkgo biloba, color on rice paper, 2024
DING Rong, Gardenia jasminoides, color on rice paper, 2023
Located in the Xianlin campus of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine with a construction area of 11,000 square meters and total exhibition areas over 4,500 square meters, Jiangsu Museum of Chinese Medicine is one of the earliest professional exhibition halls in China and one of the earliest member units which joined the China University Museums Association. The Museum is now a promotion and education base of nation’s TCM Culture, a unit member of the Museum Alliance of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, the director unit of Jiangsu Museums Society, and the ‘World Literature Capital’ network landmark of Nanjing. The Museum presents the long history of Chinese traditional medicine, highlights the achievements of traditional Chinese medicine in Jiangsu province, and showcases the rich cultural heritage of Jiangsu University of Chinese Medicine through its rich exhibits of medical instruments, medicine containers, pharmaceutical tools, plaques and statues, medical documents and the specimens of herbal medicine, animal medicine and mineral medicine. The Museum is aiming at building a regional culture palace with the functions of the acquisition, protection, research and display of traditional Chinese medicine cultural heritage.
video courtesy of Gege
The address of the Museum:
No. 138, Xianlin Avenue, Qixia District, Nanjing, China