Quoting the curator Cecilia Freschini: “Time flows and single images stand out more clearly than our memories. Facing Luo Xiaodong’s work, we easily enter a timeless dimension, in which dwells a mortal silence, an enormous emptiness devoid of context… Art is a serious and deep matter, and the artists should respond to major social problems… (his images) are pieces of our time, that he aims to review, suggesting us to pay much attention and make a move within.”
Be it a bench breathing the lapse of time, Forbidden City appearing as desolate landscape of crumbling ruins, or simply a scene extracted from news events, Luo Xiaodong, by employing his peculiar technique – scraper full of paint leaving irregular triangles on the canvas, and monochromatic application, not only captures the spellbinding ‘silence’ and oppressive ‘emptiness’, but also caresses our common sentiments and questions our way of viewing the world outside.
In his most recent works Luo Xiaodong tries to involve the medium as a significant element of his visual grammar: new balance is achieved by varied proportions, separation and different angles of the canvas. Through these images, the artist endeavors to build a connection to reality, but by simplification of colour and abandoning the precision of shape, he also shuns allegorical or realistic implications.
Luo Xiaodong, born in northwest China, like many other artists, has a background of academic education. However, after graduating from Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, he chose to part from the still influential socialistic realism. From the initial attempt in abstract expressionism to the increasingly established unique individual style, the artist compares his exploration in the realm of painting to an “adventure” and he will never stop. This solo exhibition will be his second in China, preceded by “My World” in Tokyo in 2007, and last year’s “The Empty City Trick” in Shanghai and Nanjing.