The paintings of Gao Zengli are fragments of his memories reconstructed. They are illusory imageries suspended in his mind. What, visually, appear like portraits of some famous personalities such as the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Pu-yi, and Chairman Mao are, in fact, mere symbols employed by Gao for his artistic expression.

Born in Lanzhou, Gansu Province in 1964, Gao finished his art training in the Shandong Academy of Fine Art and later in the National Academy of fine Art in Paris, France. In recent years, he splits his time working between Paris and Beijing. The dissimilarity of the life-style of these two cities has coerced him to put in proper prospective the question of identity as well as deepening his appreciation of the Chinese culture.

Gao loves to deploy his art from a historical standpoint, as the figures whom he has used in his works usually bring with them specific values, experiences, sentiments as well as contrasting feelings. Using characters such as Pu-yi, Mao and Deng Xiaoping as his symbols, Gao hopes to tap into the reservoir of emotions embedded in the modern history of China.

“I like the environs of darkness and express myself in black and grey colours. The grey scale between black and white is useful in reflecting memories of the past as I strive to discover sunshine amidst darkness,”  he commented.

Opening:
November 5th (Wed) 2008, 6pm - 8pm