At the 2025 Undergraduate Graduation Exhibition of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, a striking oil painting titled “Prayer” by graduating student An Qi from the Department of Oil Painting drew exceptional attention. Measuring 160×110 centimeters, this work utilizes the primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—and hyperrealist techniques to achieve a fusion of classical and contemporary art.
According to An Qi, the inspiration for this painting came from her personal experiences as an ordinary college student living in today’s society. “We live in an environment overloaded with information—social media platforms, targeted advertisements, brand campaigns… various forms of consumer content constantly stimulate our desires. My friends and I often find ourselves in a state of contradiction—buying things only to regret them afterward. Even though we know they're not necessities, it's still easy to be ‘tempted’,” she explained. These experiences led her to reflect on whether, in this era of material abundance, we are being subtly controlled by invisible expectations or temptations. This became the initial motivation behind her creation.
An Qi shared that during the conceptual stage, she was deeply moved by the composition and lighting of a famous oil painting by Italian artist Sassoferrato. Inspired by the elegance and serene mood of that piece, she aimed to recreate a similar poised figure in a modern-day context. Using realist techniques, she placed a refined and introspective character into the setting of contemporary society, hoping to create a stark contrast that evokes contemplation. Her goal was to bridge the aesthetics of traditional painting with present-day themes—a key focus in her graduation project.
The creation of “Prayer” took approximately two months. After deciding on the theme, An Qi had many in-depth discussions with her advisor, Professor Yang Shibin. They made several adjustments to both the composition and thematic expression. In the execution phase, An Qi personally built a real-life installation to establish the spatial relationship between the mannequin figure and the surrounding environment. This included arranging props, clothing, and lighting angles. She then completed the final painting by combining live sketching with reference photos. “This approach provided me with solid training. It helped me capture details more precisely and allowed me to feel more connected with the realism I was trying to express,” she said. Although the process was meticulous and time-consuming, she found it worthwhile, as it brought greater authenticity and emotional tension to the finished piece—achieving that sense of ‘stillness with underlying tension’ she had envisioned.
An Qi never expected the painting to go viral. A few days after the exhibition opened, a classmate told her, “Your painting seems to be trending online.” When she looked it up, she was surprised to find that her work had already been shared and discussed widely by netizens. “It felt both thrilling and unreal—like an unexpected gift,” An Qi said. She expressed sincere gratitude for the attention her painting and the SCFAI graduation show had received. To her, the response was not just encouragement, but also a reminder. As a young artist just beginning her journey, An Qi acknowledged that she still has much to learn—both in mastering artistic techniques and in deepening the conceptual expression behind her work.
