Exploration across ancient and modern times
——Commenting on Jiang Zhe's solo exhibition "Seeing the World"
Wen 丨 Liu Yun
Jiang Zhe's paintings are reflections and reconstructions of history, looking back at the path of the mainland in the course of modern times, thinking about the psychological vision produced by the intersection and collision of Chinese and Western civilizations, and consciously constructing a visual culture system about a specific era.
At the time of the great changes in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese people tried to make various methods of self-help, and finally under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, through bloody struggle and unremitting efforts, the People's Republic of China was established and gradually moved toward modernization.
In this magnificent storm, there is no shortage of thrilling historical moments, not to mention the immortal heroes, history is composed of thousands of characters and events. Therefore, behind the light of "big history", there are also various "small histories" worth pondering and exploring, which are not only an appendage and supplement, but also have rich, unique and timeless significance of the times.
Jiang Zhe's paintings are based on the narrative system of "small history".
In the midst of the vagaries of the times, how does society respond to the western technological products and the industrial civilization behind them? In the Forbidden City Toy Series, Jiang Zhe constantly dismantles and depicts the internal structure of the chiming bell and combines it into a set of images with temperature and thinking. When the car appears on the northern land, generations of nomadic people will have an image imagination beyond cognition? The ever-changing schema and image of the Beijing Paris Rally Series is explored in depth and in detail. As a point of view of these works, the New Sea Country Atlas first constructs a topic that connects history and the future - "seeing the world".
How the East viewed the West in the past and the present, civilizations in the process of their spread always intersected, collided and eventually merged and reborn. In the past, our attitude towards foreign civilizations ranged from fierce resistance at the beginning to being forced to accept them in its entirety, to calmly and dialectically learning its strengths and discarding its weaknesses... This is not only a process of continuous change and reshaping of cognition, but also a process of continuous exploration and continuous curiosity. In this series of works, Jiang Zhe's repeated depictions of the explorer span the ancient and modern times, which is a tribute to this spirit of curiosity.
Looking back at the vicissitudes of the past century, in the face of the ever-changing future, you and I need to continue to learn and surpass with an open and inclusive attitude and a spirit of modesty and inquiry.
Artist's work appreciation
Matteo Ricci and the Classic of Mountains and Seas, 176x150cm Oil on canvas, 2019
Beijing Paris Rally 2, 120X100CM oil on canvas 2021
"The Visit of the Maritime Silk Road to Gothenburg visits Guangzhou", 197X145CM oil on canvas, 2018
"Nostalgia for the Homeland", 176X103CM Oil on canvas, 2019
"New Sea Country Atlas IV", 197X145CM oil on canvas, 2021
"Zheng He's Qilin Dynasty under the Western Ocean", 176X103CM oil on canvas, 2019
Toys in the Forbidden City 2, 90X90 oil on canvas, 2021
"Toys in the Forbidden City 3" 120X90 oil on canvas 2021
Duration丨2022.04.24——2022.07.03
Address 丨Changsha Tianxin District Taiping Old Street No. 167 Forward TaipingLi Cultural and Creative Community 1F, Qianfeng Art Museum