As present-day metropolitans, we are under emotional and living pressure, lots of uncertainties, feeling lost… We need something to console our soul, something sentimental, something detached from the real society.--- He Jian

In a mundane moment, such as a drunken karaoke night, He Jian’s complexly nuanced scene shows the paradoxical coexistence of vanishing tradition and remaining cultural identity. Jian revived the traditional Chinese murals by overlaying historic cultural symbols against everyday trivia, his densely layered imagery is a response to the hybridism of contemporary culture and expertly conjures agitation between history and the present.

Art Seasons Gallery is pleased to present Disguised History: The Paintings of He Jian, an exhibition of 15 new paintings by He Jian.

He finds initial inspiration for his painting in the techniques and the imageries of 14th century Taoist murals. He Jian carefully simulates the ancient relics including their damaged planes, and juxtaposes these with equally treated daily (and western) elements. In Tattoo No. 3, the deity-like men singing in karaoke, fading dragon tattoos, beer bottles with traditional patterns, and the overall withered surface of the painting spans a contradictory spectrum from religious sublimation to contemporary fashion. By expressing a mundane moment, such as a drunken karaoke night, with different periodic references, He Jian’s complexly nuanced scene shows the paradoxical coexistence of vanishing tradition and remaining cultural identity. Through these displaced images, his painting raises fundamental questions about identity religion, history, culture, losses, and progress.