A MEDAL FOR INGENUITY

Shortly after tennis player Wu Yibing made history at the recent US Open with his court savvy and a complete arsenal of shots, his jersey garnered much attention on social media.

Wu, the first Chinese mainland male player reaching the last 32 of the year's final major, wasn't sporting the ubiquitous sponsor logos. Instead, there was a badge, in the shape of a medallion, styled onto the left sleeve of his jersey featuring a miniature painting from X Museum's collection of artist Xu Lei's 2021 work, titled The Variations of Chalk Cliffs on Ruegen.

X Museum is a one-of-a-kind center in the heart of Beijing that promotes multidisciplinary shows by not only artists, but also designers, musicians, architects, scientists and engineers. Its founder and director, Huang Xufu, firmly believes that art is too important not to share.

"I try to find different ways of introducing art to a broader audience. The objective is to both enlighten and inspire people," says the 28-year-old director, the brain behind the X Mobile Museum project that endorses the adage "art is everywhere".

Breaking stereotypes

The pioneering museum, committed to breaking art-gallery stereotypes, has been combining avant-garde works from various disciplines and successfully exploring cross-border cooperation. Customizing a "medallion" with the contemporary work of an ink painter from China shows its endeavor to unite local art with global sports.

Huang sees Wu as "a promising player with unlimited potential". The 22-year-old tennis player returned to court after an ankle injury in January. The jersey with the badge is meant to empower him and all homebred athletes while promoting Chinese art on an international canvas, Huang says.

"The miniature painting on the sleeve is not a conventional logo. Also, an athlete's jersey has rarely been considered a canvas before. We hope to offer people more opportunities to connect with art in unexpected places," the museum director says.

After Wu entered the third round of the US Open, his game with World No 1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia was widely broadcast in China earlier this month. "His outstanding performance throughout the tournament was predictable. Sponsoring him was a bold move, but it paid off," says Huang.

The jovial player, who became the international media's darling overnight with his witty one-liners, says he was delighted to showcase Chinese art on his jersey.

"Both athletes and artists constantly challenge themselves and influence others. Whether it is sports or art, we are showing the world that China is a force to reckon with," he adds.

Artist Xu's The Variations of Chalk Cliffs on Ruegen is currently on display at the Chinese Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. The series is inspired by Chalk Cliffs on Ruegen (1818) by German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840).

Xu borrows the theme of mountains and trees from Friedrich's original, but chooses painting styles from different countries and centuries.

His works feature the artistic vein of the landscape paintings of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), along with Italian Renaissance from the 15th century, Persian miniature from the 16th century and Japanese ukiyo-e from the 19th century. He also adopts the "realistic" depiction of Chinese painting and adds the art of printmaking to his composition.

"I like to do a comparative study of different cultures for my art. Cultures are characteristic of countries, and civilization is what we have in common. These make starting a conversation a lot easier," says the artist, who was born in East China's Jiangsu province in 1963.

Xu found a "commonality" between Friedrich's works and traditional Chinese landscape paintings. He also observed that the German artist liked to paint ruins, a popular theme in Italy and Britain for a long time.

In China, poetry and paintings have often documented history. "Art blurs borders. Art is for all," he says.

Huang says Xu's paintings were his top choice for the jersey badge for more reasons than one.

"The series not only excels in depicting contemporary art in traditional Chinese ink, but also upholds profound Chinese philosophy. I believed it was the right vehicle to take our art to the world audience," Huang explains.

The artist doesn't hide his excitement at being chosen. "Oh, I was thrilled. Sports and art may be different in terms of motion and stillness, but both are spectacular in the passion they portray," Xu says.

"In the traditional Chinese way of thinking, art represents the balance between two extremes. From the perspective of ancient Greek art, it is a combination of strength and beauty."

Infinite possibilities

Since its launch in 2020, X Museum has been committed to promoting Chinese artists worldwide. It has held 15 exhibitions and established a partnership with Lulu independent art space in Mexico City to provide Chinese artists an annual platform overseas. It is currently running the X Mobile Museum project.

"We are discovering talented artists in the process, particularly from the young generation. They are a force in innovation, and we hope to take Chinese contemporary art to new heights," the museum director says.

Huang believes that despite sports and art being different lines, they can intersect like the letter X and lead to infinite possibilities. Hence, the collaboration between the museum and Wu won't stop here. The plan is to design a new jersey badge for the tennis player every six months.

"I think if there is a first time, there can always be a second time and then a third," Wu had said in a post-game interview to CNN on his historic performance.

The museum is sanguine that he will make history again, and that China will continue to shine on the world stage because of him and the country's remarkable multidisciplinary collaboration.