Chinese Art Now: October 2015

The title of the exhibition "Three Lives" comes as a hint for the diversity, or maybe ambiguity, of Wang Huaxiang's (b. 1962) multiple identities. Wang holds a teaching position at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), from where he graduated in the late 1980s. As a CAFA student, he studied woodcut printing and excelled at it; then, somehow, he transformed into an oil painter; but his most brilliant talent goes to pencil drawing, both in making and in teaching of it. In the early 1990s, his discourse on drawing education stirred up quite some controversy among art academies in China. It would be no surprise if he even had some hard time for it. Now, has he learned to play down his tunes, or does he remain high-pitched? What about his art? Something as conventional as an academicism artist should do or as cutting-edge as his acute personalities may suggest?

Wang Huaxiang, Someday, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 110cm.

The answers - to the above questions - remain with Wang's works that occupy almost the entire second floor of the CAFA museum. After touring around, let’s have some time for contemplation. There are various forms or mediums adopted here - as painting, drawing, woodcut printing and installations. For a variety of subject matters, Wang exhibits superb execution skills and scholarly aesthetics. In the portraits, human figures are distorted as if caused by excruciating pains. The narratives are sometimes allegorical, but with unknown or mystical themes. The satirical approach used by him can be traced back to Goya and Daumier. The Dali's or Magritte's style of imagery is erotically charged and can be visually hallucinating. In a summary, we could roughly categorize Wang's works as elite academism with satirical and surrealistic means of expression – plus philosophical insights.
Realism is at the center of explaining Wang's works, although its connotation in China is quite different from the original Western idea. In China, the practice of realism is in its unquestionable, orthodox status in art education of the academies. Not to mention, drawing is still assessed and plays a crucial role in the admission process. As an educator, however, Wang's teaching deviates from the academic doctrines. In 1994, he published a book encouraging spontaneity and a certain degree of freedom in expressiveness in drawing classes. As an oil painter, around that time, Wang began to explore a style now generally dubbed Cynical Realism. This is in contrast to his early woodcut prints that visually relate to the primitive rural lifestyle in the southwestern China. In the early 2000s, Wang, with open arms, embraced the pop culture and consumerism, and produced a series of shiny, stainless steel sculptures that echoed to Jeff Koons, but obviously with realist execution. One of these sculptures can be found at this exhibition, titled Desires of China. In it, erected manhood, in clusters, grow wildly like mushrooms. Striding on a bough is a female nude with arched back, seemingly in her state of ecstasy. Vulgarity, we can say. But is it actually the straightforwardness, or, the lack of diplomacy that makes us uncomfortable? If so, at least sincerity is a better strategy than hypocrisy, especially, in art making.

Wang Huaxiang, Right, That Is it, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50cm.

Another interesting example of Wang's artistic style is in the work titled The Bound Slave. It is clearly modeled after Michelangelo's marble sculpture Dying Slave, with a narrative likely borrowed from Jonathan Swift's satirical novel Gulliver's Travels. The unruly brush strokes and the dark theme remind of Goya's murals in his final days. In the picture, a giant is subdued by numerous small figures crawling all over his body. His clothes torn, his face smeared, and his eyes open fiercely with traces of anger, fear and despair. What is personified can be the spirit, history or morality. But what is underlined here is the collective power from the individuals, trivial in their own right but immense when coming together.

More information about Wang Huaxiang’s solo exhibition:

“Three Lives”
The CAFA Museum
Duration: Sep. 11th, 2015 to Oct. 9th, 2015
Official Homepage:
http://museum.cafa.com.cn/cn/exhibitions/three%20lives/text