Pan Jian’s night-time landscapes show a new generation of Chinese contemporary artists. Born in the 70s, his individualized style and concept derives from his personal emotion rather than collective thinking driven by socio-political themes. He explores the forefront of the unknown. His calm and intricate brushstrokes convey abstraction at first glance in a dark blue, almost black, duo-chrome, however when your eyes adjust, the night landscape slowly emerges.

The forest scenes and minimal landscapes are captured as if from an instant in a film. He is inspired by the words, “the beauty of a scene originates from its sadness.” There is a deep melancholy or nostalgia that lingers within in his works and it is precisely his intent, which is to capture a mood, state of mind or emotion within the silence and stillness of the night. His works are almost alive yet create a feeling of psychological dislocation. There is no beginning and no end to a narrative however, each work, says Pan Jian, has a story behind it that he doesn’t speak about wishing to keep a somnolent obscurity to his work. His flashes in time portray neglected corners, he says, “in the uninhibited corners, silence can be broken at any moment.”

About the artist:

Pan Jian (b. 1975 Shandong) is a young and committed painter who currently lives and works in Beijing & Xi’an. He graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Xi’an Academy of Fine Art where he is now a professor. His work is included in numerous collections including the DSL collection, The Uli Sigg Collection, The Yuz and is well supported by the Yuz Foundation in Jakarta.

Image: © Pan Jian, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery