Artist Zhang Xuan's solo exhibition "Xuan" officially opened on February 7 at the Van Gogh House in London and lasted for two weeks until February 20.
Zhang Xuan said: "Van Gogh has a sketch of a woman's legs. Probably because of my own love of ballet, I was full of imagination about the unknown upper body in the painting, which extended to this series of works. ”
In the bright foyer that greets guests, in the narrow and dark hallway leading to the garden, in the warm Van Gogh bedroom... Among the historical materials and old furniture on display, Zhang Xuan's oil paintings maintain the unique personality of being a work of art, but do not appear to be excessively ostentatious, and integrate with this historical building. Van Gogh once wrote to his brother Theo: "There is a fiery flame burning in my body, but no one stops to warm it, and all passers-by see is wisps of smoke." People silently guarded the fire in their hearts, patiently waiting, waiting for someone to sit down near it..." Perhaps it is from another perspective that a perfect interpretation of Zhang Xuan's works has been made.
Exhibition hall entrance
Xuan I., oil on canvas
《Xuan I.》
Zhang Xuan's works are dreamy, but also lonely and persistent. The scene in the painting is like being in a dream, the dancers take firm steps, rotate fiercely, jump freely, repeat the dance movements as if trapped in time, but seem to be about to achieve their own breakthrough in the next moment. The artist's use of "Xuan" in his own name as the title of his work has bluntly shown the attributes and willingness of self-expression in the series of works, but it is clear that Zhang Xuan does not want the audience to be confined to his own emotional world, but tries to use approximate synaesthesia. And the method of resonating with historical figures conveys the spirit of a dancer who is both powerful and soft.
"Xuan VII.", oil on canvas
Details of "Xuan VII."
As far as formal techniques are concerned, dance and painting have different training systems. Dance is dynamic, painting is static. But from the perspective of the audience viewing the two, they have a certain intersection - conveying the emotions of the performer (work), bringing the viewer into the inner rhythm of movement. When the excellent performers dance on the stage, the audience can't help but keep up with the dancers' rhythm, the body gently swaying with the music, and each heartbeat seems to fall exactly at the beat of the dance steps. As for painting, it is the artist who creates a visual rhythm through the placement of objects, shapes, lines, and the regular repetition of artistic elements, which affects the movement of the audience's eyes in the artwork. It's like van Gogh's use of a lot of curved long lines in Starry Sky, the swirling sky and the undulating pines. The viewer's gaze continues to circle with the curves in the painting, and finally thrown into the vast sky, it seems that at this moment, the audience has a connection with the Dutch painter in history, feeling the magic of life under the stars that he has repeatedly praised.
Zhang Xuan draws on the implicit movement momentum created in Van Gogh's works, and gives every ballet dancer the unique sense of abstract movement in oil painting, showing a dance passion that is about to break through the canvas. At the same time, in this new series, the artist also incorporates the rhythm and poetry of Chinese painting. Chinese painting and calligraphy pay attention to "vivid rhyme". Stroke after stroke, breath and inhalation have their rhythm. In this traditional and experimental way, the artist uses the brushstrokes of Chinese painting to explore the boundaries of oil painting as a creative medium and the commonality of Chinese and Western artistic views.
Xuan VI., oil on canvas
Xuan II," oil on canvas
Xuan IV., oil on canvas
Xuan V, oil on canvas
About the artist
Zhang Xuan is a freelance artist living in Shanghai/Nanjing, born in 1990 into an artistic family. He graduated from Jeonbuk National University in South Korea in 2012, studied at Nanyang Institute of Art in Singapore in 2016, and then studied at St Martin's College, University of the Arts London in 2018. After returning to China, he officially became a professional artist, and his creative direction was mainly based on character abstraction and image oil painting, and he has opened up the exploration of digital art and cooperation with international NFT platforms. Zhang Xuan wants to combine the global vision with the essence of modern humanities to express the artistic charm of the younger generation.