Jiangshan Lapse

As an outstanding artist with poetic expression in Chinese contemporary art, Xu Lei adapted traditional aesthetics from the perspective of modernity, explored the combination of Chinese and Western elements on the node between tradition and modernity, and acted as the pioneer in opening up the innovation road of contemporary meticulous brush painting and ink painting.

The 2010 Jiangshan Lapse, composition on present a Christian altar in the form of a triptych, enhances the story: the picture in the middle of the white horse, gainly is stiff, dark eyes seemed so unreal and back Angle, where it seemed to hear the call of the, go back and, from the left to show a strong and handsome body. In Xu's own words, it is "lifelike and lifeless." It was his childhood impression of taxidermy that these delicate but lifeless animal figures became one of the protagonists of his paintings, solitary in the vast world. He loves the stage setting space, which is full of clever design and decoration. In front of the white horse is a two-fold screen, like a winding maze, but it creates another fantasy within the picture. In the visual Mosaic game, the contradiction of social situation is revealed. His images create a world full of mysterious fantasies and add the expression of absurd modernism.

The main color of his works is blue, and the weak light shines from the right, casting light shadows on the wall, which is closely related to Xu's early life experience. Like many other Chinese born in the 1960s, Xu Has experienced too much red, violent stuff, and is deeply resistant to the bloody, revolutionary color. The desire for peace and purity led him to choose the cool color blue, which also added a mysterious flavor to the picture.

This work is exhibited in "The Revival of Tradition: Another Approach to Contemporary Chinese Art", a group exhibition at the Song Art Museum, from September 25, 2020, to February 2021.