Variations on Seasons

Ink, pigments, acrylic panels, laser-cut flashspun HDPE

Zhonglu 1915 Art Space

Quanzhou, China

February 15 – June 15, 2022

 

Four paintings with three-dimensional cut-paper elements adorn the gallery walls of Zhonglu 1915 Art Space. Spring and Summer hang on the gallery's ground floor, Autumn and Winter are on the second floor. Painted on clear acrylic panels, dark ink and vibrant pigments occupy the back of the reflective plates, and three-dimensional paper sculptures are attached to the front. When the audience looks at the works, their reflection will appear on the glassy surface of the paintings. These works reveal the contrast between abstraction and figuration, three-dimensional and flat surfaces, and the physicality of materials and optional illusions.

 

Scaled after traditional Chinese landscape paintings, the works are made up of two-panel, three-panel, five-panel, and other forms. The painting is based on ink, with red and green to complement the liveliness of Spring and Summer, and silver and gold on the harvest and conservation of Autumn and Winter. Three-dimensional cut-paper sculptures align the ceilings, walls, and doorway, organically connecting the upper and lower galleries. The ground space is left unoccupied. Paper-sculptures function both as context for the three-dimensional paintings and create visual continuity for the exhibition.

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The paintings are a continuing exploration of my iconic three-dimensional paper sculpture form in recent years. The concept, content, and form come from reflections upon reading the "Book of Rites" about the rhythm of an ancient society moving along with the rhythm of nature.