In Wang Qiang’s recent paintings, the image materials he uses are not merely copies of coloring representations, but a parallel to his thoughts on paintings. While creating the figures and textures of the realistic world, Wang places himself in a Euclidean space where everyday life generates diverse possibilities. Through confirming the two dimensional inter-relations of the specific features of the world, he refines the daily diversity into a rational visual language – the images of Wang’s paintings approach infinitively to the reproductions of images, yet ‘elevates’ the realistic precision during the process of creation, which clearly defines the boundary between the fields of paintings and images. German philosopher Heidegger and American poet Frost both borrowed the metaphor of “path in the forest” in their work. According to the philosopher, the ones who recognize the path in the forest must be professional forest rangers, while to the poet, the path becomes a life long journey with no way to return. To Wang Qiang, the forest path is where the professionals meet the life journeys, because the ‘precision’ paintings represents is an unreachable that can be perceived.

This is Wang Qiang's second solo exhibition at White Space Beijing, showcasing his latest paintings over the past year. Wang Qiang was born in Beijing in 1971. He graduated from Oil Painting Department, China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1997; Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 2004. Wang now lives and works in Beijing, China.

Image: © Wang Qiang, White Space Beijing