"The Soul of Arkansas," an exhibit of 40 paintings by international artist Longhua Xu, will open to the public Oct. 5 at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
For his latest series, Xu and his wife took to the back roads and traveled to the more rural parts of the state to observe its culture firsthand and uncover the souls of the people living in Arkansas.
A private showing is scheduled for Oct. 4.
"We began just driving around different places and small towns just to see where people are living, you know. My wife and I also talked to the local people and asked why they chose to stay there and not move to the big city where there are more jobs and more modern, comfortable (ways of) life," Xu said.
"They told us they liked it there and that life is not just about success and (having) a big house. In some cases, they said (they stay) because they have a grandpa living there and felt like they should keep up the tradition. ... Then we got to see all that they were doing with farming and cattle," he said.
The collection of 40 paintings features scenes Xu observed while traveling throughout the state. Unlike other works of art that focus on society's definition of beauty, Xu said he worked to bring out the natural beauty of the community and feature real people of all ages, shapes and sizes.
Xu said the series started to really come together over the last two years, but some of his work dates back three to five years ago. During that time, he was able to truly get to know the "peaceful lives (and) warm family values" Arkansans hold dear.
"People living in these small towns have their own spirit and values," he said.
In addition to the pieces depicting rural life in Arkansas, Xu also included several works he said are specific to the spirit of Hot Springs, featuring its iconic waters and horse racing.
"Some of my friends have said that it doesn't look like it fits each other but if you look at the spirit of Arkansas, this is a spiritual thing," he said talking about his decision to include the horses in this series.
The paintings featuring the horses show them alongside or immersed in a body of water, whether it is a sunset on Lake Hamilton or the thermal waters featured downtown. Each piece reflects the natural beauty of Arkansas while highlighting something dear to the Hot Springs community.
The north concourse of the convention center is being converted into an art gallery for the exhibit, which, according to Mary Zunick, cultural affairs manager for Visit Hot Springs, should be the first of many temporary exhibits in the space.
"He has been working for a number of years on this exhibit," Zunick said. "He's painting the people of Arkansas, and it's not just the images we see in, say, advertising -- these are the true people, whether it's people at the farmers market or someone's grandmother or a farmer, they're true people and he's finding the beauty in these people. ... "
Xu said he chose to display his work in the convention center because the art belongs to the community. By choosing to feature it outside of a gallery, Xu said he feels more people in the community and people visiting the area would have access to it and not be constrained by a gallery's typical operating hours.
"This space will connect the people of Hot Springs to the rest of the world," Xu said, referencing the fact that the convention center hosts guests from all over the world.
"I think it's the best place to show the work between the public and (other) artists. Most of the time, artists show work in galleries for sale but to me, we really need to show the world our community and how we support each other," he said.
Local on 09/26/2018