Dive into the mystic world of Zha Guojun
"Mystic World V 2322"
Abstract art creates a spiritual environment that is suitable for the inner mind and an illusionary world that expands the imagination.
The solo exhibition "Mystic World Series V" by artist Zha Guojun is open at the SPSI Art Museum and will run until November 17.
This is the fifth time the artist has held a solo exhibition under the theme "Mystic World" in his career spanning more than 60 years.
Born in 1943 in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, Zha graduated from Shanghai Theater Academy in 1967.
When most of his friends were doing socially realistic paintings, he switched to abstract art in early 1983. Two years later, he continued his studies in the United States and began to employ ink and color on paper.
"In my opinion, Chinese literati painting achieved a state of mystic images between similarity and dissimilarity through a combination of poetry and painting. It's a form that combines figurative and abstract expression," he said.
"Mystic World" is not just a recurring motif for him but also an Eastern philosophical thought that he pursues in his artistic journey.
The exhibition includes a collection of his most recent works.
In these pieces, Zha "restrained" himself from describing since it discloses too much of his feelings or artistic linguistic habits. In reality, such contrived remnants are diametrically opposed to his concept of a "mystic world."
Nonetheless, his emotions and consciousness have discreetly entered the paper's layers of colors, folds, and fibers during the production process.
When everything is no longer describable, rationality loses its role.
Zha quickly replaced the focus on the painting itself with the state of the materials, employing several non-painting techniques from his own expertise, such as the framing technique. Such application amplifies the strangeness and mystery of the work, successfully breaking out of the traditional painting expression into the sphere of material expression.
"Mystic World V 2327"
Exhibition info:
Date: Through November 17 (close on Mondays), 10am–4:30pm
Venue: SPSI Art Museum
Address: 111 Jinzhu Rd
金珠路111号
