Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Fu Luofei has embraced more alternatives for his artistic creation. Fu often sketched in rural areas or at the factories in the suburbs of Guangzhou where he created numerous artworks about farmer’s soiling or the construction and production reflecting the times and expressing praise for the development of China. In 1952, when coming to Xicun Power Plant in Guangzhou, Fu was stunned by the construction in full swing, and then created Streaming Workshop.

The trio respectively portrays the workers’ hard work at the workshop, power supply room and the dock, showing an ordinary day of these workers. In the first painting, two workers are repairing a machine at the corner of the dock while two experts standing behind are observing and studying the workers’ skills. The bright red background emphasizes the heavy green machinery on the front, embodying the hustle and bustle of their work. In the second painting, a worker leans forward at the corner of a power supply room, holding an electric drill in both hands with almost all his strength. His blue hat contrasts sharply with his yellow pants, reminding us of the distinctive style of the times. Differed from the former two, the last painting outlines the workshop in dark heavy lines, combined with black background, suggesting the harsh working conditions and the arduous workers. The trio accurately and vividly depicts the images of the workers with simple even seemingly random brushstrokes.

With his sophisticated sketch techniques and shaping capacities, Fu created a large number of vigorous workers, displaying various microcosms of new China within his paintings. Through his brushstrokes, the real images of the most ordinary workers during the historical changes of China were recorded.

(Edited by Li Hanning & Yang Zhige, 2021)