A man reads newspaper in an alley. Photos by Jesse Warren
Jesse Warren
LOOKING to go on a day trip within Shenzhen? Lover of art? Look no further than Dafen Oil Painting Village. Located in Buji Subdistrict, the village is the world’s largest mass producer of oil paintings — a virtual art factory. But Dafen has much more to offer than cheap paintings, and is making moves to prove it.
Originally conceived by a Hong Kong businessman who began production with several dozen artists in 1989, the village has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years. Now 5,000 artists churn out more than 5 million paintings every year, and Dafen has garnered international fame and acclaim.
I first came to Dafen one year ago as a scout for an art dealership in America. Expecting to find a block of nondescript factories containing thousands of artists, I was surprised to find a quiet, pleasant village — and budding arts community.
Meandering through the narrow, shady lanes for hours was a delight. Time seemingly came to a stop as shopkeepers napped in the afternoon heat, and old men read newspapers in the shade. Children ran around playing and shouting. The scents of painting oils permeated the air, and soft classical music drifted out of storefronts.
Tucked into small nooks and crannies throughout the village, artists painted everything from abstract to art deco, folk to futurism, realism to romanticism. Acrylic, enamel, ink, oil and pastels, they had it all.
Portraits of Mao Zedong, Albert Einstein, Hu Jintao, George W. Bush and other famous figures peered out from galleries. Human bodies shared wall space with Chinese calligraphy, and modern graffiti contrasted with Chinese landscape paintings. It was apparent there was no limit to the genres and mediums of art one could find in Dafen.