To foster the cultural exchange activities among Guangdong Province, Madagascar and Reunion, the Guangdong People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Reunion Chinese Associations Federation jointly organized the solo exhibition of artist Chan Sicpo in our province on 11 April, 2008. Chan Sicpo is a renowned artist in the Indian Ocean region. He depicts the scenery of Reunion by using his abstract painting style, which gives everyone in the province the invaluable opportunity to better know the island. Furthermore, this exhibition has a positive effect on the cultural exchange among our province, Madagascar and Reunion. Hereby, the Guangdong People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries would like to express our greatest congratulations to this exhibition and sincere gratitude towards Chan Sicpo's efforts in spreading the Chinese culture. We wish the greatest success for Chan Sicpo's exhibition.

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Some connoisseurs comment that Chan Sicpo's paintings are the 'colours of life'. I greatly agree. Now we can feel such colours of life and life of colours, feel the sunny island Reunion, and feel Chan Sicpo's overwhelming charm and fascination at the Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. At the age of almost 80, Chan can be regarded as 'old'. However, his paintings are energetic and gorgeous. An old man has such an energy: his passion combined with the powerful colours, which likes the eruption of volcanoes and the explosion of lava, 'four oceans are swirling, clouds and waters are roaring'; and a phenomenon in which the sky collapsed and the earth cracked, 'five Continents are shaking and thunderstorms are flashing'. These paintings are all touching. That is what truly meant by veteran. When confronting with Chan Sicpo's paintings, we, basically, consider about neither the history of world art nor that of Chinese art nor any philosophies of art, which are all academic matters. Indeed, we simply talk about love: obsession, fascination, passion; the love for mankind, for life and for nature. When a painting loses the feeling of life and its passion, it will leave with only an outer-shelf or a seemed to be beautiful body. For a depressed person who is daily confined within the structure of steel bars and cement; a restless one who is always rushing in an environment polluted with dirty air and noises; and a busy one who works in an area filled with cheats and mistrusts, they can only make life become chaotic and fabricated while leaving only a decorative, looked like pretty shelf. What more can they achieve? Life and passion could only become the fading mutters within us.

Therefore, Reunion, a distant small island, does lure us. Think about the wide-deep ocean, the wonderful scenery, the dazzling light, and green trees while thinking also about Chan lying on such an amazing environment. How could we not admire?

We wish the greatest success for the exhibition Tian Di Xuan Huang - Chan Sicpo solo exhibition on oil paintings

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EDENA is proud and honoured to present the Tian Di Xuan Huang - Chan Sicpo solo exhibition on oil paintings, in partnership with the BaoQu Tang Modern Art Gallery, at the Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, and then in Hong Kong.

This event is part of EDENA's corporate objective to promote the island of Reunion (France) through Chan's unique and innovative artworks and thus reinforce the island's cultural links with China. This approach builds on the strong relations EDENA has developed with the Chinese community and its associations in Reunion Island.

We are delighted to be able to present this engaging artist, Chan, whose powerful works fascinated visitors of his previous exhibitions, Instants de Chan at the St Denis town hall (Fete GuanDi 2006) and Ile extreme vue par Chan at Musee Leon Dierx in 2007.

We would like to thank Mr. Philip Tse and his team at the BaoQu Tang Modern Art Gallery whose professionalism and enthusiasm have helped giving the exhibition a remarkable quality and impact. Our thanks also go to Mr. Philippe Maillet who coordinated this operation from the start.

Finally, we also give a thought to Mr. Chen Kang of the Association of the People of Guangdong for Friendship with Foreign Countries with whom we initiated the first contact for this project and to Mr. Chen Guanghai who has carried it on with efficacy.

We invite you to discover our island as seen by Chan, Tian Di Xuan Huang- Chan Sicpo solo exhibition on oil paintings.

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The first time I met Chan Sicpo was when BaoQu Tang almost finished the preparation of Chan's 80 grand paintings that are going to be exhibited at the Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Chan asked, ''Why do you like my paintings?'' which was the first sentence and question he said to me. I have never been asked such a direct question by any artist before. Without giving me the time to respond, he continued, ''I have neither had any teacher nor received any formal art training. In the past few decades, I simply manifested my feelings of nature through observations and my own way of expression.'' Having such a question honestly asked by a veteran, I had also to honestly answer him. I looked at him while he was also looking at me. I answered, ''I like your artworks because they are potent with power which is expressed by the vigor of the lines, the mixed colours, the textures and the layers depicted. Such underlying energy is enchanting. Within an abstract form, there is the notion of realism.'' To my answer, Chan only slightly nodded his head without having any special response.

Chan is a tall and strong man. Although at the age of 79, he is able to walk firmly and quickly. He always travels alone back and forth that shows his insatiable energy. He is passionate at nature while continuously expressing his impression of nature on canvas years by years. His painting skill is the synthesis of his inner-self and endless practices. I see Chan's paintings contain elements from Zao Wouki (b. 1921, Beijing), to which is agreed by some of my friends. I have told Chan about this impression. However, he does not want to be named together with the masters. Whether this response may be due to his being humble or the inner individualistic personality; whether this is a co-incidence or happens by chance, it does not matter. It is because Chan's paintings are filled with his specific energy and quality which are unique.

The more I get to know Chan, the more I respect him. I have selected two of his gorgeous paintings which will be hanged on the walls of my living room after the exhibition. I am sure that the powerful colours will give much lustre to my home.

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With his height and slenderness and a natural distinction which requires no ingenuity, Chan Sicpo, also known as Chan, conjures up a certain mystery and yet, strangely, a closeness at hand. The man radiates an extreme sensitivity which his obvious stiffness does not seek to conceal. Dressed in dark colours, he spreads his canvas on the ground and squats down to work at his studio which is surrounded by the lingering smells of paint. Using sticks, sponges or brushes, he freely mixes the colours. Chan has been painting like this for about forty years.

The artist was born in China. When he was ten years old, the Sino-Japanese war was raging. His mother decided to send him to Madagascar where some distant relatives lived. After a long and arduous journey, he arrived in Tamatave. He was alone in a foreign land without assistance and was forced to face the hardships of life. In fact, not only had he to contend with the problems of daily life, but also had to learn about his new country: its language, its customs and its values..., at the same time, meeting his increasing desire to express himself through painting. It was, however, only after a professional career in exploiting and working on precious stones that he was able to dedicate himself to art. As he was gradually freed from material needs, he began to concentrate on Malagasy life and the landscapes of the Great Island. His artworks show a certain impressionist influence. Since then, he hasn't stopped contemplating and painting, time and time again. Today, at the age of 79 years old, the artist is experiencing international fame, notably in Asian region such as Hong Kong, Singapore and China, etc. His reputation was firmly established in August 2005 when his solo exhibition held in his country of birth at National Museum of Art, Beijing. As far as painting is concerned, he is completely self-taught. He has never received any art training, has no teacher in the subject and there is no specific school or master which inspires him more than one another. He is completely free in his expression and is neither a theorist nor a tormented artist. Chan creates his artworks in an instinctive manner without any particular ambition or restriction. This is undoubtedly the reason why he has chosen to express himself in large formats: so he does not impose limits of space on himself. The artist, who is difficult to define, does not restrict himself to a fixed style. He refuses to submit to the laws of fashions and styles. He gives a personal vision of the world, which is a vision of hope, exaltation or sadness and always conveys extreme feelings. He is more sensorial than intellectual and his approach stems from real emotion which comes straightly from his subconsciousness and his irrational self. The artist thus deforms our objective vision of landscapes to reflect another reality, which is made up of torments, merging matter and flamboyant colours.

A recent trip to the Reunion has inspired him with a great subject enabling him to begin his new creation which is the swirling steep mountains. The shapes and colours contrast with the softness and ochres of the Tananarive region and the south of Madagascar where he lived. Chan feels the immediate desire to express his emotions when faced with the savage landscapes of the Reunion. The compositions, without organized lines, swirl around tortuous reliefs, merging lavas, surging waterfalls, dense forests and the moving ocean. They are the expression of the chaos which gave birth to our island and continues to make it vibrant. These metaphors of reality paint nature as the artist would like it to be, inventing another dimension to our perception of this sensitive world. In the image of the Reunion, the paintings appear as a real explosion, deploying vital energy in which colour reaches its plenitude. The artist develops original expression and a creative force which is achieved through mixing colours and turbulent flight. Reality is thus distinguished from its representation. Through the refusal of the law to recreate appearances or any visual reality, Chan deforms and manipulates space to give it an unusual form: sometimes rich in matter, sometimes fluid, but always moving. His artworks reveal a host of contrasting optical vibrations.

Chan's paintings affect our vision of the Reunion. From one painting to the next, these creations awaken the spirit and enrich our personal vision of known landscapes. Each and every person is free to wander around freely, rediscovering and interpreting intimate landmarks in his or her own imagination. From Voile de la Mariee to Pointe au Sel, to Piton de la Fournaise, Salazie or Belouve forest, Chan transcends all the perspectives in a subconscious display of the Reunion. The artist, who abandons himself to the power of the elements, carries us to each and every part of the island or perhaps elsewhere in which dreams begin at the frontier of reality.

May each and every one of us feel the spiritual quintessence of the Reunion through these metaphors with all of our emotions.