Plum Blossoms Gallery presents internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Cai Xiaosong’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong Illumination –Rock of the Other Mountain, curated by Olivia Wang, featuring the artist’s iconic Planet series and his recently completed ink painting series, Kama Sutra and Celestial Roar.

Moving on from his Venice Biennale-exhibited series Planet, Cai continues his investigation into various cultures as seen through their appreciation of art in stone. To him, scholar’s rocks hold a unique aesthetical position in Chinese Art history, but apart from its artistic nature, this primordial reserve from Nature also bears witness to the epochs of all history. Illumination – Rock of the Other Mountain reveals the artist’s subjective point of view about confronting the past and coming to an understanding of history.

Cai’s outward view of international culture marked by his sampling of art historical iconography and expressed through the traditional Literati obsession of scholar’s rock painting sets him apart as an ink artist. His non-insular viewpoint testifies to the cracks that are appearing in the conventional xenophobic fabric of Chinese society. Cai says, “I believe Art influences society.” Through his paintings and installation works, he is exploring the similarity between traditions and tracing the origin of humanities.

Once again, in the Nepalese inspired mythical series of Kama Sutra and Celestial Lions, Cai digs further into this unending topic through his masterful ink-and-brush paintings on silk. The images present glimpses into the intrinsic quality of ancient civilizations that have long existed on the planet and illuminate the trace left by their inheritance.

-Plum Blossoms Gallery

Image: © Cai Xiaosong
Courtesy of the artist and Plum Blossoms Gallery