In “Garden of Eden”, celebrated artist Qian Gang has punched through an invisible film of refined, tranquil contour, ever present in his earlier graceful black and white painting series, and stepped into a new expression in which he is resplendent, bountiful and exuberant. The graphic and concise dialogue of his black and white pieces has been replaced with a tactile vigor, dripping with sensuality. There is a precision and hyper-realism to each leaf, petal and creature. This new series takes on an epicurean energy that taunts the viewer into the canvas, forcing them into a dynamic interaction.

Of this new series, certain pieces are abundant, lush, and overgrown. In these, Qian Gang exhibits a liquid sensuality. Symbols of masculine and feminine energy combine to create a sense of temptation, of intertwined heat. A thinly veiled humour resounds throughout his work; a humming bird sucking nectar from a dewy flower is crawling with innuendo.

Certain pieces have more of a tangible surrealistic influence. He creates pregnant tension in the serenity of these pieces, demonstrating how the poetic abstraction of the black and white works has now developed into a surrealistic vision of symbolism and energy. A cat holds the gaze of a bird flying overhead, and a bulldog jealously protects the apple of temptation that nestles beneath his paw. There is a classical consistency in his treatment of composition, with foregrounds rich of still-lives framed by deep blue, calm horizons.

Qian Gang’s new pieces mark a celebration – of love, of reconnection to himself, and a return to China.

Qian Gang was born in Shanghai in 1958. In 1976, the artist was sent to the countryside to be re-educated for the next 5 years of his life. Qian Gang’s father, Qian Da Xing, is renowned for his advertisements and works created during the Cultural Revolution.

Influenced by both his forced move out of the city as well as his father’s skill as a painter, Qian Gang became a self-taught artist, following the intuition of his personal experiences to inform his choice of subject matter.

In 1981, Qian Gang entered the Shanghai Light Industry Institute. Two years later, he moved to the United States to attend the San Francisco Art Academy, after which he moved to New York. In 2004, Qian Gang returned to China and has resided in Shanghai since.

His works have been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including the Edward Hopper Museum (2002), Chas Gallery (Boston, 1991), Caccoala Gallery (New York, 1996-1998), and Contrasts Gallery (Shanghai, 2007-2008). Qian Gang has also been shown at the Shanghai MoCA (2005) and the Singapore Art Museum (2006).