Art Seasons Gallery presents “What Are You Thinking,” a group exhibition by three pairs of artists friends from China. “What Are You Thinking” is a frequent way of communication developed in the course of daily life. With it, people enquire after friends and into their inner world. “What are you thinking” is also the most encountered topic as the artists immerse themselves in contemplation and discussion with people. It reflects the origins of artistic sparks. Entitled “What are you thinking”, the exhibition unfolds itself through inter-dialogue between works by two artist friends, and explores the root of artistic creation. The first such exhibition features three successive phases, each comprising one duo of artist friends.

Lin Tianlu + Luo Xiaodong

Using space and time as their respective starting point, the two artists discuss the essence of painting. Lin Tianlu stresses the material element of painting. He thinks that the foundation of painting is derived from its placement, a spatial object hanging on the wall. Only by acknowledging the existence of painting as a thing of nature can its other connotations be manifested. Luo Xiaodong creates the “history of cloud” of painting through the reutilization of surplus time. Experimenting with an artistic presentation, he infuses meaning into non-history time. The artist documents time through painting, the internet and phone photography, inspiring the possibility of reusing surplus time. 

Han Xiaohan + Liu Kai

The sharp contrasts between these two artists’ works present the meaning of life. Han Xiaohan makes specimen of animals at the end of their natural life span and, in an unpredicted manner, put them into lighting bulbs to light the bones and fragments of the animals, indicating the perpetual existence of life. The sentiment of life is Liu Kai’s subject of exploration: a wood-carved prancing pony on the prairie, a flock of cheerful ducks by waterside, kingfishers gracefully perched atop trees. These cozy scenes are showcased in the exhibition room, highlighting either the sensations of life that is fading in memory or the unnamed tension in reality.

Wang Mingqing + Xiong Jian

The two artists became friends thanks to their nearly identical life experiences and matching artistic perception. Their works make sense of changes in self, humanity and the environment, with private sentiments as the thread. Through the alteration of existing objects, Wang Mingqing expresses his incompatibility with and doubt about the society driven by superfast economic development. Xiong Jian builds a cement wall with planks at the base, calmly documenting his private sentimental reminiscences in a fresco style.

-Art Seasons Gallery

Image: © Wang Mingqing