Jiang Miao's works from various series seem discrete and, at the same time, relevant to the same cosmic space. 'Origin' series sculpts the rudimentary form of living things. From there, they undergo numerous regenerations, demonstrated by the reincarnation of life after death and the cellular reorganization of organisms. Awakening and the entry of new ideas also embody the process of rebirth. Jiang Miao invites the audience to consciously complete the ultimate form for the works from this series. '瑞' or 'Auspice' carries the meanings of blessing, mythical animals, and the gemstones used for ancient religious practice in Chinese culture.
Jiang Miao: Lustre of Hope
HONG KONG / H Queen’s
Sept 3 - Oct 22, 2022
INTRODUCTION
Whitestone Gallery H Queen's is honored to present 'Lustre of Hope', the first solo exhibition of Chinese artist Jiang Miao in Whitestone's gallery space in Hong Kong. In this exhibition, oil paintings, prints, and carving works from her 'Life' series are presented. It also showcases the latest creations from the artist, which reveal her continuous exploration of the philosophy of life, presenting her ingenious paintings and bringing a journey of reflection and inspiration to the audience.
Exploring "Lustre of Hope"
Nurturing
The birth of Jiang Miao's baby led the artist to experience the spiritual essence of the heart and mind. Similar to the Buddhist dharma practice of 'looking at the mountain is not a mountain, looking at the water is not water'. That is, understanding that nothing exists on its own; all things exist in relation to all others and that all things are changing and transient.
Jiang wanted to paint the landscape she envisioned where the state of her mind was in the present; a landscape of great tranquillity, invisible water, with great energy and unfathomable depths. The invisible water implies the multiform water in this world. As the invisible water manifests, a halo of light appears representing spiritual light and signs of life.
Jiang chose meteorite and gemstones as the subjects of the "water.sphere" series. Meteorites radiates energy from distant space and gemstones are fragments of dense energy condensed after hundreds of millions of years on earth. They symbolize time manifested in earth's long history reflecting on the short life span of human beings.
Growing
This stage is the stage where life dances and spreads with power. It is the rebirth of all things after they have been destroyed and moving along the trajectory of a whirlpool. The artist believes that the whirlpool is a symbol of the soul. To survive is to absorb energy.
Life needs energy, and Jiang believes that the energy comes from the sun. Artworks in this series are composed of more than twenty abstract paintings superimposed on the invisible bottom layer. These paintings come from Jiang's feeling of sunlight, air, temperature, wind and elements that day to represent the color tone in the moment. She repeates this process the next day layering another color tone. By using a knife to carve and create dots, lines and planes, the final hue is formed, where the artist sees the colors unearthed. In this process, Jiang discards and sheds what she has learned in the past to present the will of the cosmos. Quoting the artist as she reveals the colors on the canvas: "It is telling me what it wants, what it has experienced."
Enlightening
A record of the stage where heaven and earth represent energetic colors. The circle is also the disc of the system, with a frame, which resembles the human eye and erected as the eye of "God" referring to the truth of life and the universe. True art requires an inner energy.
The circle inside the rhombus of ‘Heavenly Eyes’ represents the magnetic field, the whirl (the symbol of the soul), and the substance of point, line, and plane. It is also the reconfiguration of the trinity of soul, the cycle of reincarnation that all comes out of the Taiji (太極), and the colors hidden underneath depict the releasing of energy from light. The work is placed horizontally like the human eye and vertically to represent the eye of "God" to express a state of enlightenment and connections between the world and the beyond. These works are meant to serve as replenishment energy allowing the viewer a different perspective within a meditative moment.
Oriental
‘瑞’ or ‘Auspice’ carries the meanings of blessing, mythical animals and the gemstones used for ancient religious practice in Chinese culture. Artworks from this series chained various symbols in oriental culture. For instance, the spiritual beast in the paintings delineates the totem of dragon in oriental wisdom.
Sept 3 - Oct 22, 2022
HONG KONG / H Queen’s
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