After several years of introspection Jiang Guozhe has made a transition in his practice: rather than painting from a photograph he is now exploring the “idea of the image,” of “composition,” “narrative” and the concept of painting itself. In these multilayered canvases we see him construct evasive narratives with characters which seem to repeat themselves across the picture plane or find themselves in interesting relationships to the other characters/objects on the canvas. In these works we find always an aura of uncertainty — a story with myriad possible endings. This body of work stands out in that it seeks constantly to challenge the conventions of painting, for instance “what constitutes a subject?,” “what constitutes a background?” and “how is space defined?” We see parts of subjects becoming blurred, or becoming wholly swallowed up by the background and three-dimensional and two-dimensional objects existing within the same space. It’s a pivotal body of work for Jiang Guozhe and thus a fitting choice for his first solo show in China.

image @ gallery and artist