Elisabeth de Brabant is honoured to present “Perspectives”, an exhibition of established viewpoints and new artistic outlooks. A selection of works from some of the most revered masters in contemporary Chinese art within China and internationally, will be presented in this group exhibition; proposing various discourses on contemporary art in China today. “Perspectives” features works from master artists Hung Liu, Li Lei, Leng Hong & Shan Sa; demonstrating established expressions in contemporary art. These artists convey their unique perspectives via historical social commentary, abstract expressionism and ancient allegory. In conjunction, works by Xiong Qin and Wang Xiao Ben illustrate new artistic dialogues in shadow, light and line. All artists draw their inspiration from both East and West, creating visual narrations of contemporary realities.

-Elisabeth de Brabant


ARTISTS

Hung Liu

An artist of Hung Liu's talent is rare, both in technique and in subject matter. She is among the great artists of our era. As a painter, Liu subjects the documentary authority of historical photographs to the more reflective process of painting; she has written: “I want to both preserve and destroy the image.” Much of the meaning of Liu’s painting comes from the way the washes and drips dissolve in to the canvas, suggesting the passage of memory into history, while working to uncover the cultural and personal narratives fixed – but often concealed – in the photographic instant.

Li Lei

The focus of the art world is currently on Shanghai. We are most honored to be able to celebrate this moment in the city’s development by presenting one of Shanghai’s iconic abstract artists, Li Lei. His works are vulnerable, expressive vibrations of the soul. It is immediately obvious that the most intense feelings of the artist are given over to his artworks; his painting and his inner life. There is a sense of tranquil abandon, with their streaks and sprays of pure, unfettered color. There is a rawness of energy, and a pulsating expression of emotion.

Leng Hong

Leng Hong’s works are masterful oils, paintings thickened with marble impasto for depth, his subject matter tracing back to the Tang and Song Dynasties. His dialog is poetic, his colours tertiary, and the ancient history he references is ingeniously counter-balanced with an Expressionist treatment of distortion and composition. The strong influence of European Expressionism and Cubism is prevalent throughout his works. His pieces become a mélange of romantic images, up to a dozen scenes all masterly fused onto a single flat tableau.

Shan Sa

Shan Sa is a prolific painter; her exploration of Chinese Ink painting is transformed in to avant garde expressionism. Taking Taoist ideas of the celestial realm as her muse, the artist creates compositions that are at once bold and subtle, imaginative and realistic, beautiful and profound. With flashing brushstrokes and sweeping washes. A rebel to her formal “literati” education, Shan Sa has continually pushed the boundaries of her traditional creative disciplines, to find new forms of expression that have gained widespread acclaim on an international stage.

Wang Xiaoben

Wang Xiaoben offers a fresh perspective to oil painting, her delightful light play and experimentation with line and shadow is both starling and seductive. There is an architectural element to Xiao Ben’s work, yet skillfully abstracted to formulate a unique and characteristic style that is both hyper real and at the same time personal and heartfelt. Elisabeth de Brabant welcomes Wang Xiaoben to the art center to premier her most recent series.

Xiong Qin

Xiong Qin is well established as one of the leading artists from the Chongqing movement, his style is distinctive and striking; drawing the viewer in to the myriad, using pointillism as a distinctive stylistic technique. His dialogue is modern, urban and multi textured, creating a rich layered metropolitan landscape with a dualism of both abstract and figurative influences. It is a great pleasure to be able to introduce Xiong Qin’s works to the art center.