Wang Hao and I started talking from cement. As a commonly used building material today, cement's appeal to artists lies in its gray touch that cannot be traced with paint, as well as its plasticity after adding water and its texture after hardening. In 2008, Wang Hao developed a creative desire to express something with cement. In the past 11 years, his works have presented a consistent gray aesthetic, these different levels of gray, like a kind of almost empty existence, and then out of nothing.
Dr. Hao Wang
For Wang Hao, who is a professional in architecture, cement may be a very convenient material. Born in Qingdao in 1976, he entered the Design Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1995, and underwent rigorous training in basic courses during his undergraduate studies, from abstract painting to Cubist painting of the Dutch Style School, and gained a deep understanding of the changes in Western art since the 20th century. Later, he studied sculpture for a year in the Department of Sculpture as a graduate student, which made the almost minimalist lines in his works not come out of thin air.
Wang Hao talked about modernist concrete architecture, and talked about the love of concrete by masters such as Le Corbusier and Tadao Ando. When he first found this material to create, he tried to make a batch of "Shiwu" series works that combined cement and porcelain pieces, becoming the first artist in China to use cement materials to create "Shiwu" works. In addition to the specific functional characteristics of these works, what is more important is the grasp of the shape similar to the shape of sculpture, which can still be found in his studio today.
At that time, Wang Hao had not yet graduated with a doctorate, and this series of works had been done until graduation in 2011. In 2012, the works were unveiled at Soho's China headquarters in Beijing, scattered across the floor and walls of the exhibition hall, detailing his initial explorations of cement and ash. It was also after that year that Wang Hao officially decided to become an artist in the future.
Two years after graduating with his Ph.D. in 2013, Wang Hao really began to systematically create cement paintings, either cutting the picture into balanced rectangles or squares, or using triangles to break the static space. This has become his three more systematic series of works today, the former being the "Silent" and "Park" series, and the latter being the "Yuan" series. Different lines and color blocks cut and interlaced in the painting, coupled with the gray of cement, give his work a gray order.
It is difficult to say whether Wang Hao's works are Oriental or Western: the names of the three series of "Silence", "Park" and "Yuan" all have the charm of Eastern philosophy, of which "Far" comes from the traditional perspective method of "Three Distances"; and he uses cement materials invented by the British to make pictures with almost rational rules. Those abstract lines and color blocks stem from Wang Hao's understanding of Eastern and Western cultures, and he hopes to build a bridge for communication and dialogue. In his latest batch of paintings, minimalist orchid leaves fill the entire picture, seemingly both Western deconstructed and Eastern freehand.
After learning that I was a philosophy, Wang Hao talked with great interest about Jacques derrida, who had a deep influence on him. During his undergraduate studies, a Taiwanese teacher brought a book by Derrida, and he was greatly touched by the introduction of philosophy, and to this day, Wang Hao always feels that the concept of reconstructing in his works that breaks the original thinking is like extreme deconstructionism. Start from one point, amplify, subvert and reconstruct the entire language system.
For Wang Hao, this "point" that can subvert the entire system is the consistent gray in his creation. From the earliest finding of cement materials for creation, to the later cement composite material works between paintings and installations, to the paintings on canvas without cement, after the absence of cement, the gray dark lines that always run through it are preserved and gradually revealed. By now, he had lifted a heavy load.
In Wang Hao's view, there are many possibilities for gray between black and white, in addition to its attractive texture, adding any bit of color can become different levels of gray. Wang Hao does not mind gray aesthetics becoming his label, although gray, moderate, static things have never entered most people's aesthetics, "I hope to keep a certain distance from the current trend, because the current trend is bright, may also need a reverse force, pull in the direction of simplicity, maybe one day ash will really become popular." 」 ”
hi Art (hereinafter abbreviated as hi): From being admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1995 to graduating with a doctorate in 2011, you studied architecture and design, why did you choose to do contemporary art in the end?
Wang Hao (hereinafter abbreviated as Wang): I think contemporary art may be more direct for me to express some of my ideas, I have done a lot of planning and design tasks before, most of these work is more constrained, some from the commission, some from the project itself, no matter which level of restriction will affect the presentation of the final design work. To be artistic creation is much freer, to be able to express my ideas for many years smoothly, which is also the most fascinating thing about contemporary art.
hi: It's only natural that you first used cement as a material to create.
Wang: At the end of 2008, I began to use cement as a material for creation, probably because when I studied architecture, I was particularly interested in modernist plain concrete architecture, and the gray and simple feeling of cement was very special, and it was difficult to use pigments to tune out. In addition to the visual characteristics, cement also has a touch, which expands its two-dimensional space, no longer just a flat thing, this touch has always been very attractive to me.
hi: Your previous works on the shelf were all cement composite materials, but now that the cloth works have no cement elements, what are the integrated materials used?
Wang: I generally use water-based pigments, including Tempera, propylene, watercolor, and even Chinese painting pigments, which have good permeability and can constantly superimpose unexpected effects.
hi: Which process is more difficult to operate than painting and turning cement?
Wang: There are many unexpected accidents in the process of turning the mold, there will always be unexpected effects when the mold is opened, some stomata are particularly rich, and some of the color differences are very unique, completely out of control, there will be a lot of accidents. Although the process of painting is not as much physical strength as when turning the mold of cement, each painting itself must be found little by little, here to change, there to adjust, sometimes also need to retain the contingency of a certain moment, compared to the cement works take more time to make.
Hi: Looking back now, even without cement, the gray in your work is still there. When you first used cement, did you realize the existence of "ash"?
Wang: Ash has always been the feeling I want to express, and it is also the clue that I have been creating for so long. The current paintings are also controlled in a grayscale, so that the contrast between the colors of the picture is particularly small, emphasizing a subtle relationship of change, which is more in line with my ideas and needs. It may be related to personality, or it may be because of the subtle Orientalism, the shock of Western painting is more direct, while the expression of the East is more indirect, it emphasizes a feeling, and it needs a little bit of fun to taste.
Hi: But cement is a more Western material.
Wang: Yes, cement materials were first invented in Britain, and it can be said that its emergence has also redefined our modern habitation and way of life. This material itself, I think, has broken the concept of East and West and become an indispensable thing in human life. When I use this material, I don't deliberately show whether it is East or West, but I just do it according to my own ideas, but there is definitely something in it that has its own culture. I feel that the cement itself can communicate, and I can use this language to have a dialogue with different cultures.
hi: Over time, how do you think about your previous work?
Wang: With the different experiences, there will be some differences, but the works in recent years are basically a systematic thing, but the focus will be somewhat different, and different periods of thinking about different issues, including technical and aesthetic.
hi: Do you feel like an abstract painter?
Wang: I don't know if I'm an abstract painter, I just think I might be better at expressing myself in abstract language, because I have undergone rigorous abstract training, and it is easier for me to express my ideas.
Hi: The cues of grey aesthetics are becoming more and more apparent in your work, do you mind if others take it as your style or label?
Wang: I don't mind, for me, gray has a huge space to explore, and the deeper you look, the more happiness you find. I don't like to chase pop culture very much, but rather to works that stand the test of time. Like the Mona Lisa, the statue of David, the color gamut painting of Mark Rothko, or the classic blue of Yves klein, I have been to the Klein Museum in Nice and I was very moved. I also want my work to have a deeper grayscale and stand the test of time.