Inexpensive Signed Copy of Book, "The Art of He Qi," Now Available

Here's a wonderful and inexpensive opportunity to own a copy of the book The Art of He Qi, signed by the artist himself, who is also willing to personalize the book for a specific individual.  The book contains 57 of the artist's best pieces throughout his Christian art career and only costs $39 + $3.99 shipping.  Considering that used prices for his other book, Look Toward the Heavens: The Art of He Qi, start at $75 + shipping, I'd jump on this opportunity asap if you love his art like I do (I already own a copy of the latter book).  You can read more about The Art of He Qi on the artist's website and see some images from inside the book.

Global Christian Worship - A Sinful Woman Washes Jesus’ Feet: Chinese, Japanese, Mayan, Cameroonian art

The latest post over at Paul Neeley's Global Christian Worship blog is "A Sinful Woman Washes Jesus’ Feet: Chinese, Japanese, Mayan, Cameroonian Art," which includes four nonwestern images inspired by this Sunday's Gospel reading in the Lectionary, Luke 7:36-8:3.  The artwork depicted is by Chinese artist He Qi, the Jesus Mafa artist, Sadao Watanabe of Japan, and the last by yours truly.  Check them out!

Easter Morning by He Qi

Easter Morning by He Qi

The following description is from "Bible Paintings: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ" at www.jesus-story.net:

He Qi is one of the most popular modern painters of religious themes. Here a triumphant angel announces that Christ has risen, conquering the demons of darkness who now flee from him. The women have not yet woken properly, and seem unaware of what has happened. They still mourn, but the angel is telling them that the time for grief is over.  Instead of the unfurled military-style banner often held by Christ in earlier paintings, He Qi's angel carries a luminous lily, sign of purity and peace.

Rev. Travis J. Scholl, editor of Concordia Journal, writes:

The more one encounters He Qi’s art, the more one encounters the creative tension between the vernacular and the universal, the local and the global, what Robert Brusic calls the “synthesis between artistic indigenization and proclamation.” He Qi’s pictorial vocabulary is thoroughly Chinese, but the message is nothing less than the Gospel itself. Again, Brusic: 

He Qi presents us with art that connects us to the biblical story in a fresh, even a surprising, way. He is both storyteller and evangelist in his art. He is not only preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he is also conveying a message that transcends cultural types. In seeking to de-westernize the Christian story, he is trying to open our eyes to the universal implications of the larger and all-encompassing narrative of God’s love for all creation. (Arts: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies 9:3 (1997), p. 10) 

Supper at Emmaus by He Qi

He Qi, Supper at Emmaus

He Qi (pronounced “Huh Chee”) is a contemporary Chinese Christian artist that paints primarily biblical themes and scenes. However, he combines these stories with Chinese cultural elements drawn from the colorful folk art of the Chinese countryside, and rural Tibet. In addition to these sources, he also references the iconography of the Western Middle Ages and Modern Art. If you aren't familiar with his art and story, click here to read more about the symbolism in his work and his own personal journey.  You can also read more about him at a previous post of mine here.

Church and Art - Word and Image Bible Studies

I encourage you to check out this bible study based on Matthew 2:13-23 and The Flight to Egypt by Chinese Christian painter He Qi [pronounced Huh Chee].  It's found at Artway.eu, a Christian website that "seeks to open up the world of the visual arts to the interested lay man and woman."  The website is chock full of information about artists, galleries, churches, art, etc. (primarily European), so please take a look.

The He Qi study is a part of their series called "Church and Art - Word and Image Bible Studies," and the goal of this individual study is "to find a new way into the biblical text by means of He Qi’s work... He Qi’s painting can help us explore the text, find new significance and make connections between this - seemingly insignificant - story and the larger narrative of God."  The study was written by Cisca Ireland-Verwoerd, a lecturer and writer based in Boston.

The study does a nice job of examining the painting itself, by exploring some of its visual elements.  I wouldn't call it an in-depth study, but I think that it could be an interesting addition to a deeper examination of the passage.  In any case, it's a good use of visual art to enhance a textual study and inject greater interest in the subject matter by associating a visual image with the passage.

Be sure to sign up for Artway's free weekly Visual Meditation email here.

Chinese artist He Qi

He Qi (pronounced “Huh Chee”) is a contemporary Chinese Christian artist that paints primarily biblical themes and scenes. However, he combines these stories with Chinese cultural elements drawn from the colorful folk art of the Chinese countryside, and rural Tibet. In addition to these sources, he also references the iconography of the Western Middle Ages and Modern Art. If you aren't familiar with his art and story, click here to read more about the symbolism in his work and his own personal journey.