Painting is an approach we use to capture, record and exhibit various rationalities and feelings of human beings. In particular, it is based on a two dimensional surface, with paints added on top of it. The media and functions of painting have evolved along with the development of history; nevertheless, artists are the subjects of painting from the very beginning.

The front side of paintings is on display to the viewers; yet the other side of the painting is left for the artist himself. What the viewers can see and the power painting releases on the front side is actually coming from the other side of paintings: the backstage.

Dou Rongjun and Tang Shu are two young artists who live and work in Nanjing and Shanghai. They have a lot in common: similar age, persistence on painting, and both of their works have developed and changed a great deal in the past year.

In the process of self-recognizing, Dou Rongjun’s work has detached the obscurity caused by his previous gray palette and adopted clarity. He simply conveyed his cognition and comprehension of this world through his paintings, along with the pursuit of his identity and memory. Meanwhile, he sees more clearly what he treasures in his life: the birth of his daughter, and the memorial to his earlier days. His Comrade series shows his tireless quest to the past.

The other side of Tang Shu lies in the change of his interiority. Tang has been studying Sutra for years, which becomes his approach to interpret the imperformance[1].  in his life, including the investigation of history, the narration of time and the questioning of his identity. He himself even becomes more perceivable and amenable in this process; the visible side and invisible side in his art also have reached to a balance. Bamboo Leaves in this exhibition is an extraordinary piece, which can be viewed as a release of Tang’s deepest feelings. As always, the most basic and essential concept can be conveyed in the modest and simplest form.

The exhibition of the two artists simply displays their recent works and quietly presents their spirits.

[1] Imperformance, is one of the essential doctrines or three marks of existence in Buddhism. The term expresses the Buddhist notion that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is in a constant state of flux. (wikipedia)