Magazine for keeps

Li Xiaolin, a professor of printmaking at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, is among those whose gift was spotted by the magazine.

Li took up illustration classes while pursuing a master's degree at the CAFA. His works were included in a book of his teacher's, and caught the attention of Duzhe's editors who contacted him.

"Then I began to receive commissions from the magazine. I have made nearly 2,000 paintings for it over the past 25 years," says Li, whose works are on show.

He says artists enjoy freedom when creating for the magazine.

"It is not a must that we illustrate precisely what the content is about. We are not to explain, but to visualize the atmosphere being delivered, and to extend the implications. This is especially true with essays and poetry," he says.

Li says earlier he sometimes had to have his job done in one or two days, and mail his work by postage service when the computer was still a luxury item to most people, but these days, all he needs to do is simply take a shot of his work with a mobile phone, his "reliable assistant", and send the picture to the magazine's editors.

He says the long-term collaboration between the magazine and its contributors, based on mutual trust, is evident at the exhibition, which covers a variety of styles and approaches of expression.

"People can see works that are realistic and abstract, colorful and in black and white. Aesthetically, the quality is steady, which is one of the reasons why the magazine has been successful."

A number of illustrations have been provided by professional artists like Li, while there are also amateurs whose creativity and imagination became known to people through their work for the magazine.