Scott No: -
Serial number: 2024-17
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: August 9th, 2024
Denomination: 360 fen
Designer: Xing Wenwei
Size of stamps: 40 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13 * 13.5
Sheet composition: 12
Size of sheet: 186 * 185 mm
Printing process:
Offset + Engraving for Value I;
Offset for Value II;
Photogravure for Value III
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 3 special stamps themed Selected Contemporary Art Works (III) on August 9, 2024. The stamps bear the designs entitled Eternal Ancient Snow, White Clouds and Yellow Crane, and My Motherland and My People respectively. The total face value of the set is 3.60 yuan, with a planned circulation of 6.2 million sets.

The three contemporary artworks featured on the stamps are selected from the creations of three groups of renowned contemporary Chinese artists, namely Zhang Ding, the collaborative pair of Zhou Lingzhao and Chen Ruoju, and Huang Yongyu.

The original version of Eternal Ancient Snow was created by Zhang Ding in 1988. As one of his representative burnt - ink landscape paintings, it is now collected by the National Art Museum of China.

Zhang Ding (1917 - 2010), a native of Heishan, Liaoning Province, was a celebrated Chinese revolutionary artist and art educator. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he participated in the design of the national emblem and the emblem of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and took charge of the art design for the founding ceremony. He also oversaw the creation of large - scale murals at the Capital Airport, earning him the reputation of a designer of China's national image. This stamp is produced using the combined offset and engraving printing process. Dominated by black and white tones, the artwork is depicted through engraved lines, which maximizes the restoration of the artistic charm of the original painting.

White Clouds and Yellow Crane is a collaborative work by Zhou Lingzhao and Chen Ruoju. Serving as the main mural on the first floor of the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei Province, the original painting is preserved in the National Art Museum of China.

Zhou Lingzhao (1919 - 2023), born in Pingjiang, Hunan Province, was a prominent Chinese artist, art educator, and former professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. At the founding of the People's Republic of China, he took the lead in painting the portrait of Chairman Mao displayed on Tiananmen Rostrum for the founding ceremony. He was also a key art designer of the new China's national emblem and the CPPCC emblem, and a pioneer and advocate in the field of public art design such as modern and contemporary murals in China, making remarkable contributions to the development of art and visual image design in the new China.

Chen Ruoju (1927 - 2013), Zhou Lingzhao's wife, hailed from Anxin County, Hebei Province, and was a professor at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts). As one of the first generation of applied art designers and educators who graduated after the founding of the People's Republic of China, she devoted decades to the exploration, research, teaching and creation of pattern design art. She made outstanding contributions to the teaching, design, production and research of Chinese ceramic art, and achieved extraordinary results in the field of public art design including murals. This stamp is made using offset printing technology, and the high - precision offset printing vividly presents numerous intricate details of the pattern, such as the eaves, windows and the facial expressions of the figures.

The original work of My Motherland and My People was created by Huang Yongyu in 2003. It portrays the image of an angel in white through lyrical colored ink techniques and is currently in the collection of the National Art Museum of China.

Huang Yongyu (1924 - 2023), of Tujia ethnicity, traced his ancestral roots to Fenghuang, Hunan Province. He was an influential contemporary Chinese artist and writer. He started his artistic career with woodblock printing and later expanded into various art forms including traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, sculpture, ceramics and craft design. He was also the creator of the original artwork for the Year of the Monkey stamp issued in the Gengshen Year. This stamp adopts the photogravure printing process, and the essence of its design is achieved through high color saturation and vividness.

As the third installment of the Selected Contemporary Art Works stamp series, this set maintains design continuity while incorporating innovations. The left side of each stamp features a wide frame presenting the original appearance of the respective artwork, and the right side is adorned with the artist's signature and personal seal. With a balanced and substantial composition as well as a concise and vivid design, the stamps perfectly showcase the artistic characteristics and unique charm of the original works.

This set of stamps was designed by Xing Wenwei and edited by Li Jinwei. Beijing Stamp Printing Co., Ltd. undertook the printing: the first stamp was produced via combined offset and engraving printing, the second through offset printing, and the third by means of photogravure printing.