Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang V

2015 - Painting (Painting)

175 x 375 cm

Hao Liang

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Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang is a series of landscapes in the Xiaoxiang region in the modern day Hunan Province, China, and was a popular subject of poems, drawings and paintings during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Liang follows tradition by interpreting the historical subjects by classical Chinese artists including Dong Yuan (934–962 AD), Mu Xi (died in 1281 AD), Wen Weiming (1470–1559 AD). This reinterpretation represents the meeting point of the Xiang River and the Dongting Lake. The artist’s use of light, shadow and color creates a simultaneously flat and three-dimensional space on the silk surface. By employing the Chinese technique of ink painting on silk, Hao Liang proposes a sophisticated reflection on the complex relationship between tradition and modernity.

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The work of Hao Liang reimagines and explores the sublime of contemporary ecological landscapes. His traditional Chinese ink paintings refer to the past and the present in an effort to modernize tradition. Influenced by Chinese antiquity, Liang’s practice uses contemporary language with references to the past and in so doing rejects the temporal modalities of chronological time and modern-day national boundaries and identity. Through his long-term research on landscapes, gardens and urban culture, the artist questions why Chinese culture has such a close relationship with tradition.

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Colors:

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• tradition.n.01
• modernity.n.01
• reinterpretation.n.01
• landscape.n.01
• identity.n.01
• antiquity.n.03