The Beginnings of the Art of the “New Period”

At the end of the Cultural Revolution, the political principle that “practice is the only criterion for testing truth” provided the conditions for artists to create relatively freely. In 1979, “Scar Art” began to reflect on history, and young painters such as Gao Xiaohua, Luo Zhongli, Cheng Conglin, and He Duoling of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute left important documents for the history of art. In 1979, the painter Wu Guanzhong called on artists to pay attention to “formal beauty” and “abstract beauty,” and his article sparked a discussion about the “formal revolution.” At the same time, “The Stars” art eexhibition organized by young artists in Beijing shows that the concept of modern art was influencing artistic practice and leading to controversy.