Mulan Gallery is proud to present Reminiscences of illusory worlds, an important and distinctive showcase of four renowned Chinese contemporary artists, Jiang Huan, Lu Peng, Liang Chang Sheng and Zhang Hua. The selection of works offers a stimulating visual fare of multihued paintings and gliding sculptural forms. What unites the works of these artists both visually and in terms of content is the question of reality.
Each artwork in this showcase while appearing to adhere to the differences of reality and illusion plays with the distinctions making them collapsible and inter‐mingled in interesting ways. While Liang Chang Sheng creates dense images combining motifs of folk art, mythic symbols, Buddhist iconography in his paper‐cuts and paintings to realize a hyper‐real imaginative world, Lu Peng’s paintings add a touch of lightness and satire with figures floating in a veritable melting pot of the past and the present of China. Zhang Hua on the other hand creates lithe human forms, often females and children that are charming, immersed as they are in joyful animation. Jiang Huan’s work, though overtly realistic in technique, depicts scenes that are crafted imaginatively, often from the past and the distant future.
Each of the artists’ technique though centrally concerned with the human figure depicts them with varying degrees of inventive flair both in composition and execution. The elongated necks and supple limbs of Zhang Hua’s sculptures are a case in point. Lu Peng’s figures too are almost caricatures, executed in saturated colours for exaggerated effects. In these works, it becomes harder to separate the real from the unreal as they come fused like the images of dreams, producing illusions of our world that provoke and captivate.
About the artists
Jiang Huan
Jiang Huan graduated from Capitol Normal University, Beijing with a degree in painting in 1989. His artworks that have been exhibited widely as well as featured in auctions, have received popular and critical acclaim. Prominently his works were selected for the ‘China Masters of Realism’ showcase in Arcadia Fine Arts, New York in 2007. Jiang Huan’s near flawless execution of realistic technique and meticulously detailed large canvases make for highly valued works of art.
Liang Chang Sheng
Liang Chang Sheng’s works have been widely exhibited in Asia, Europe and the United States and his artworks have also been collected by National Art Museum of China as well as numerous private collections. They are appreciated for the fine draughtsmanship skill and traditional motifs and themes. Having trained in folk arts and practiced as a designer, Chang Sheng brings a unique sensibility to his line drawings, paper cuts and, more recently, his large and medium sized paintings. The multiple narratives that he creates with the lavish images inter‐weave and amuse.
Lu Peng
Lu Peng is a practicing artist and lecturer at the Fine Arts Department of the Beijing College of Education. He studied painting and completed his PhD from the Chinese Painting Department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His works have been shown in various parts of the world including Bangkok, Boston and London. These are marked by his characteristic style of depiction that has parallels with scroll paintings and other traditional art forms, and features highly condensed imagery. Lu Peng uses a rich palette of hues to render these signature and often, theatrical creations.
Zhang Hua
Zhang Hua received his training from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Sculpture Department of Hebei Arts and Crafts. Within a short span of about a decade, Zhang Hua’s sculptures have received widespread recognition and various awards and accolades. His sculptures have been displayed in parks and other public locations in Beijing and South Korea. Most recently, his sculpture ‘Water Lotuses’ for the Beijing Olympic Landscape Sculpture Competition was awarded the Silver Prize. Zhang Hua’s “Sea Breeze” was also selected for permanent display at the China Olympic Park in Beijing. His works often capture the beauty and magic of childhood games, play and movement.
