Eyes Closed & Eyes Open: Hu Ke’s Sculptures and Zhang Jie’s Painting
 
Hu Ke and Zhang Jie are not only live together as a couple, and their works related as well as a couple: the works all concerning about the anxiety of the individual life, and the realization of the object are women. As a couple, they are also a person-in-community. The differences between their works, in additionally to sculpture and oil painting, the characteristics is eyes closed and eyes open: Hu Ke’s works of women all with eyes closed, and Zhang Jie’s works of women all with eyes open. What is the meaning of the different with eyes closed and eyes open?
 
As we know that the eyes are the soul of the heart. That there was a significant difference between closed and open whether in our life or in the art works. As the eyes in the art works is determined by the artists, that it became the guide to led us to explants the works. Open eyes in Zhang Jie’s works is a self-revealing, a woman telling their own story; Closed eyes in Hu Ke’s works is a observation of men to women, a men telling story of woman. The corresponding to the difference of art works -  
Women are more willing to talk about themselves, and men are more willing to talk about public topics. On this point it is concerned – home is a women’s world, the world is men’s home. The second point is women love to watch themselves, men love to watch women. So, more women carry a mirror than men on the statistically rather than the truth.
 
Whether women telling their own story, or men tell the story of a woman, they have different emotions. Hu Ke and Zhang Jie all focus on the sad woman, or in the modern way is called depression or anxiety. The different is: Zhang Jie is a more emotional expression with rational symbols; Hu Ke is a rational thinking of women’s life, while from sensible filling. Zhang Jie’s works is reflected in their inner world and external norms conflict - this derived from the social constraints on women than men; Hu Ke works shows that desires and contradictions on women its own.
 
Finally, I’d like to say, the both of artists from Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, were continued “Luo Zhong Li” and “He Duo Ling” styles. The two leads are close to human life. Hu Ke is more likes Luo Zhong Li’s style - Rational to life; And Zhang Jie is more likes He Duo Ling’s style - Emotional expression in painting.
 
Wang Xiao Jian
Associate Professor of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts
Editor of Art-Here.net
Huangtingzi Beijing
13-4-2010