Wu Jian'an, RESONANCE Exhibition view 2023 ©QIANHULIU ART SPACE
Wu Jian’an：Resonance
One of Wu Jian'an's key artistic methodologies is the contemplation and reconstruction of civilizations and their relics, while the exploration and representation of the cultural vein of the Guanzhong region is intrinsic to the institutional mission and academic stance of Qianhuliu Art Space in Xi'an. In this exhibition, at the invitation of Qianhuliu, Wu Jian'an has conducted in-depth investigations of several famous ancient relics in Xi'an and employed his visually compelling and argumentative artistic creations to interpret them, connecting ancient humanistic thoughts with contemporary artistic expression. The main content of the exhibition consists of Wu Jian'an's iconic "500 Brushstrokes" series and a new set of sculptures named "Hatching".
"500 Brushstrokes Proposal for Resonance with the Qianling Wordless Stele" is a new piece in the artist's "500 Brushstrokes" series. Hundreds of participants at the exhibition venue have each left their "subconscious" strokes, these individual spiritual and physical characteristics intertwine, share, compete, and coexist in the carefully constructed space by the artist. A square blank space left by the artist in the center of the image is a metaphor for the Qianling Wordless Stele.
Wu Jian'an, 500 Brushstrokes Proposal for Resonance with the Qianling Wordless Stele,
Ink, watercolor, paper and collage on Xuan paper 285×275cm, 2023 ©Wu Jian'an
In a thousand eyes there are a thousand forms of “wordlessness,” each one a dialogue with Empress Wu Zetian. “The Wordless Stele”, long associated with the empress, has come to stand as a point of reference between past and present. Its silence—open to interpretation rather than fixed meaning—creates space for the kind of reflection Wu explores in the 500 Brushstrokes project. A historical epitome, a contemporary grouping of souls, both in a 'subconscious' context that transcends the written word, to achieve an encounter between the traditional Chinese lineage and the contemporary that the artist is pursuing through the visual.
The entire work is both a vibrant "Contemporary Xi'an Group Image"and a proposal for a massive landscape artwork— a silent conversation spanning a thousand years with the magnificent stele of the Tang dynasty, symbolised by the brushstrokes of the individual. Accompanied by the large-scale photography of the Qyianling Wordless Stele.on the exhibition hall wall, it is as though a drama unfolds, through the millennia, the "stele" remains, not a single word was spoken, yet the meaning continues.
Wu Jian'an, RESONANCE Exhibition view 2023 ©QIANHULIU ART SPACE
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The exhibition also marks the first look of the artist's "Hatching" series of sculptures. "Hatching—Crouching Tiger" and "Enlighten—Man and Bear" pay tribute to the stone carvings of Huo Qubing's tomb with a lively contemporary imagination—they "peeling" ancient stone carvings like eggshells to become "slices of history", then reassemble them in a new order. Modern industrial technology and fine craftsmanship work closely together to polish the overlapping textures and radiant surface of the works, transforming familiar history into unexpectedly new forms.
Wu Jian'an, RESONANCE Exhibition view 2023 ©QIANHULIU ART SPACE
Just as technology can be understood as a projection of human organs, sculpture likewise extends our bodily perception. In Wu Jian’an’s view, the spatial metaphor of sculpture reflects a metaphysical notion: that there exists a distinction between inside and outside, between you and me. We have a direct and delicate perception of the space within the epidermis, but not of the space beyond the epidermis, which is recognized as the world outside the "I". Based on this understanding of space and embodiment, this series of sculptures articulate the artist’s reflections on the dimensions of perception. In the process of "Hatching", the spontaneous momentum is driven, interacting with each other, a liberation of the internal space is thus unfolded, triggering a dialectical exploration of the relationship between “I” and “non-I”.
Hatching - Crouching Tiger(left)，Hatching – the Man and Bear（right）,
Stainless steel, gold foil, electroplating, baking varnish, 82x240x130cm，2023 ©Wu Jian'an
In the group of works "Hatching", Wu Jian'an does not dwell too much on the surface of the aesthetics of modelling, but explores the boundary attributes of the "shell" as a space through placement and observation, “allowing the inner space of the statue to be traversed by the gaze and the hand, as well as allowing other sculptures to be accessed.”
The human and animal bodies derived from the original stone forms gradually fracture through the process of “hatching,” breaking apart into fragments of history. The once-celebratory imagery of military power and heroic commemoration fades and dissolves, becoming increasingly indistinct within a new context. Through layered structures and iridescent surfaces, the act of looking and rotating around the sculptures gradually reveals relationships embedded within their original forms. As vision becomes integrated into the environment of the work, we begin to reconsider the notion of the “I” — lingering briefly within the past evoked by the sculptures, speculating about the partial fragments that remain: claws, eyes, or tails that offer fleeting traces of the referenced subject. Meanwhile, within the shadows cast by fissures, scales, and boundaries beyond the visible form, we sense the presence of the “non-I,” perceiving other external and seemingly unrelated wholes. In this moment, the external object that is perceived and conquered merges with the subject projected by the inner body.
The world surrounds the "I" rather than facing the "I". Revealing, changing, replacing, recreating and pre-creating everything else.
Wu Jian'an, RESONANCE Exhibition view 2023 ©QIANHULIU ART SPACE
Superiority is achieved by learning from antiquity. In different eras, artistic creation has its own ideals and claims, and reflections and renditions of history and classics are frequently reemerging, interspersed with misinterpretations, ideological conflicts, and intellectual games, carrying reverence for predecessors and a common vision of drawing from the past to innovate.
The theme of this exhibition, "Resonance", expresses the artist's vision of establishing a contemporary expression and cultural history exchange through artistic creation. Each dialogue opens new perspectives on interpreting the past, and the tradition of humanistic spirit rejuvenates in embracing diversity. The past and future always intersect in the present, and curiosity and empathy can span time and space.
Wu Jian’an: Resonance
27 May – 15 October 2023
Qianhuliu Art Space, Xi’an, China