Le  Guo  Momentary  Suspensions

 

   

 

 ‘The  word  Hua  means  to  paint,  or  a  painting,  in  Chinese.’    Established  in  2011,  Hua  Gallery  specialises  in  the  exciting  and  sometimes  controversial  space  that  is  Chinese  contemporary  art.    As   Chinese   contemporary   art   continues   to   fascinate   and   intrigue  collectors   around   the   world,   demand   and   appetite   for   fresh   and  innovative  art  from  this  fast-­‐changing  region  continues  to  escalate.    Hua  Gallery   represents  and  exhibits  cutting  edge,  stimulating  works  by  established   contemporary   Chinese   artists,   as   well   as   emerging  contemporary   Chinese   artists   who   are   not   as   yet   "discovered"  internationally.    Hua   Gallery   adopts   a   distinctive   business   strategy   by   acquiring   works  from   artists   before   selling   them,   as   well   as   by   exhibiting   and   selling  works   by   artists   on   a   commissions   basis   -­‐   an   approach   which  demonstrates  a  passion,  dedication  and  commitment  to  the  artists  and  also,   importantly,   provides   confidence   to   art   collectors   who   trust   the  gallery  to  help  expand  their  collections.    Hua   Gallery’s   founder   and   director,   Shanyan   Koder,   has   developed  strong   relationships   with   her   artists,   and   hopes   to   build   a   Chinese  contemporary   art   collection   in   her   gallery   that   is   different   and  inspirational.  Every  artist  represented  by  Hua  Gallery  is  chosen  for  their  artistic   individuality,   the   creative   symbolism   in   their   work,   and   the  emotional  energy  their  work  creates.    Hua  Gallery   is  situated  on  the  Albion  Riverside,  a  prestigious  residential  block  on  the  Battersea  riverside,  designed  by  world-­‐renowned  architects  Foster   and   Partners.  With   close   to   2,000   square   feet   of   gallery   space,  Hua   Gallery   is   London’s   only   Chinese   contemporary   art   gallery   with   a  permanent  exhibition  space  of  this  size  and  scale.    

 

   

 

Le  Guo    Momentary  Suspensions    “My   painting   process   involves   an   intuitive   application   of   gestural  brushstrokes  of  coloured  materials  onto  a  material  surface  in  response  to  the   internal   images,   thoughts  and   feelings  aroused  by  my  experiences  of  the   flux   and   tensions   between   conflicting   and   balanced   opposites   in   the  external   world.   Memories   of   my   personal   experiences   of   this   external  world   consciously   and   unconsciously   guide   the   process   by   which   I  unconceal   potential   forms   in   the   materials   constituting   one   of   my  paintings  as  actual  forms  in  this  artwork.  These  actualised  potential  forms  frequently  become  concealed  again  by  the  unconcealing  of  other  potential  forms  as  actual  forms  while  this  painting  is  being  made.      I  momentarily  suspend  a  painting  not  in  order  to  encourage  a  spectator  to  assign   fixed   narratives   and   meanings   to   this   image,   but   instead   to  encourage   this   spectator   to   imagine   an   unfixed   process  where   potential  forms  become  actualised  and  then  frequently  potentialised  again.  As  with  a   natural   formation   like   a   piece   of   jade,   each   of   my   paintings   therefore  envisages   a   momentary   suspension   of   an   unfixed   process   of   actualising  potentiality  and  potentialising  actuality  to  which  a  spectator’s  imagination  can  attribute  new  narratives,  meanings  and  life  each  time  they  look  at  this  painting.   The   textural   and   colour   qualities   of   the  materials   in   one   of  my  paintings   not   only   constitute   its   subject  matter;   but   also   impose   similar  qualities   on   the   elements   and   atmospheric   space   of   this   painting   that  encourages   a   spectator   to   see   this   artificial   image   as   a   synthetic   whole  rather  than  as  an  art  object  to  be  analysed  into  parts.”    Le  Guo  

             

 

Le  Guo:  Momentary  Suspensions  of  Forms  in  Space    Stephen  Baycroft    The  compositional  process  of  a  figurative  objective  painter  includes  the  use  of  the  spatial  depth  and  single  viewpoint  of  an  artificial  geometrical  perspective   firstly,   to   envisage   the   materially   empty   (and   usually  invisible)   atmospheric   space   of   a   picture;   secondly,   to   configure   the  coloured  brushstroke,  line  and  shape  elements  into  the  surface  form(s)  of   each   figurative   object   in   this   space;   and   thirdly,   to   determine   the  spatial   relationships   between   the   objects   in   this   space.   The   coloured  elements   in   a   figurative   objective   painting   have   the   representational  function   of   mimetic   illustration,   –   and   the   expressive   function   of  linguistic  signification,  –  of  one  or  more  figurative  objects  seen  outside  this  painting.      A   spectator’s   experience   of   a   figurative   objective   painting   usually  involves  an  analytical  distinction  of   the  material  objects   in   it  both  from  each   other,   and   from   the   materially   empty   and   invisible   atmospheric  space   in   which   they   are   immersed.   The   analytical   experience   of   a  figurative  objective  painting  opposes  a  spectator’s  attempts  both  to  see  this   painted   image   as   a   whole,   and   to   identify   with   the   gestural  movements  used  by   the  painter   to  make   this   artwork.   The   failure  of   a  spectator   to   identify   with   such   a   painting   maintains   his/her   alienating  separation   as   a   human   ‘subject’   from   a   visible   universe   of   perceived  ‘objects’.   A   classical   Chinese   painting,   by   contrast,   encourages   a  spectator   to   use   a   synthetic   process   of   meditative   contemplation   not  only  to  see  the  entire  painted  image  as  a  materially  full  and  visible  whole  rather  than  to  analyse  it  into  particular  objects  immersed  in  a  materially  empty   and   invisible   atmospheric   space;   but   also   to   identify   with   the  gestural   processes  used  by   the   artist   to  make   this  painting   in  order   to  experience   a   non-­‐subjective   identification   with   the   non-­‐objective  universe  as  a  whole.      The  loss  of  distinction  between  a  human  subject  and  an  observed  object  like  a  painting  was  an  important  part  of  the  German  philosopher  Martin  Heidegger’s   writings   on   art.   Heidegger   argued   that   a   modern   visual  artwork   was   made   using   a   destructive-­‐creative   process   in   which  moments  of  temporal  ecstasy  involved  a  loss  of  distinction  between  an  

 

artist  ‘subject’  and  the  material  ‘objects’  of  production  used  to  make  the  material   forms   of   the   beings   in   this   artwork1.   Each  momentary   loss   of  distinction   between   an   artist   and   his/her   materials   of   production  permitted   the   potential   forms   of   essential   Being   in   these  materials   to  become  actualised  as  the  material  forms  of  the  beings   in  this  artwork2.  An  artist  experienced  the  shining  of  the  truthful  ‘light’  of  essential  Being  as   a   ‘silent   call’   that   visibly   ‘spoke’   to   him   as   the   processes   by   which  potential   forms   in   the   materials   of   production   of   a   visual   artwork  became  actualised  as  the  material   forms  of  the  beings   in  this  artwork3.  During   such   moments   of   temporal   ecstasy   a   non-­‐subjective   artist  therefore   used   gestural   movements   to   manipulate   the   non-­‐objective  materials   of   production   required   to   conjointly   give   birth   to   the   actual  forms   in   a   visual   artwork.   An   artist’s   use   of   ‘essential   insight’   to  reproduce   the   ‘essence’   (i.e.   truthful   light   of   the   potential   forms   of  Being)  of  the  materials  used  to  make  the  material  forms  of  the  beings  in  a   visual   artwork,  permitted  a   spectator  of   this   artwork   to   see   into   the  light  of  Being  of  each  being  reproduced  in  it4.    Each   of   Guo’s   paintings   is   the   result   of   a   meditative   state   of  contemplation   in  which   he   uses  memories   of   his   personal   experiences  and  history  to  both  consciously  and  unconsciously  improvise  choices  not  only   about   the   most   suitable   materials   to   make   a   painting;   but   also  about   his   gestural   manipulations   of   coloured   materials   into   a   flux   of  coloured   brushstroke,   line   and   shape   elements   on   a   material   surface.  The   potential   forms   in   Guo’s   painterly   materials   of   production  materialise   as   the   flux   of   coloured   brushstrokes,   lines   and   shapes   of  actual   forms   that   he   then  momentarily   suspends   in   a  materially   full   or  empty  atmospheric  space.  Visible  contrasts  between  coloured  materials  of   different   degrees   of   opacity   and   translucency   in   one   of   Guo’s  paintings   permits   rhythmic   tensions   between   its   elements   that  contribute  to  the  turbulence  of  the  materially  full  or  empty  atmospheric  space  of  this  painting.    Guo   has   been   drawn   towards   the   modern   abstract   painting   that  emerged   in   Russia   and   Europe   during   the   second   decade   of   the   20th  Century  in  opposition  to  figurative  objective  painting.  The  Russian  artist  Alexander  Rodchenko  wrote  that  he  had  intended  the  textures  (faktura)  and   colours   in   an   abstract   painting   like  Red   and   Yellow   (1918)   to   be   a  ‘study   of   projection   into   depth,   height   and   width’,   thereby   ‘opening  

 

infinite   possibilities   of   construction   beyond   the   boundaries   of   time’5.  Rodchenko’s   abstract   paintings   therefore   momentarily   suspended   a  spectator’s   experience   of   time   in   order   to   explore   the   spatial  implications   of   variations   in   texture   and   colour   in   these   paintings.  Rodchenko’s  wife  Varvara  Stepanova  wrote  that  her  husband’s  Black  on  Black   (1918)  abstract  paintings  exemplified  his   ‘creation  of  a  new  form,  a[n  autonomous]  deepening  of  painting  into  itself...as  a  new  interesting  faktura  and  only  painting’6.  The  endowment  of  the  visible  elements  and  atmospheric   space   in   such   an   abstract   painting   with   similar   textures  permitted   this   painted   image   to   be   synthetically   seen   as   a  whole,   and  encouraged  a  spectator’s  recognition  of  the  gestural  processes  used  to  make  this  painting.      A   major   legacy   of   early-­‐20th   Century   abstract   painting   in   Russia   and  Europe  can  be  found  in  the  work  of  mid-­‐20th  Century  American  abstract  expressionist  painters  of  the  New  York  School  like  Robert  Rauschenberg  and  Barnett  Newman.  Russian  artists  abstracted  away  from  objects  they  saw   in   Nature   in   order   to   make   abstract   paintings   where   textural  similarities   endowed   both   the   non-­‐objective   elements   and   the  atmospheric   spaces   they   occupied   with   a   materially   fullness.   The  American  abstract  painters,  by  contrast,  did  not  make  their  paintings  by  abstracting   away   from   the   figurative   objects   they   saw   in   Nature,   but  instead  adapted  the  Surrealist  artistic  use  of  visual  artworks  to  express  the  flux  of  their  inner  ecstatic  feelings  as  living  presences7.  Rodchenko’s  investigations   of   materiality,   texture   and   space   in   his   Black   on   Black  paintings  were  explored  for  the  first  time  in  America  by  Rauschenberg  in  his   all   black   paintings   (1951-­‐3)8.   Rauschenberg   not   only   opposed   the  rough   and   uneven   impastos   of   his   black   paintings   to   the   smooth   and  even  surfaces  of  the  white  paintings  he  made  at  the  same  time9;  but  also  modified   his   painting   practice   in   response   to   his   friend   John   Cage’s  making   of   visual   artworks   based   on   ideas   derived   from   Chinese  philosophy  and  Zen  Buddhism10.      The  Russian   painter  Wassily   Kandinsky  made   abstract   paintings  whose  elements   were   autonomous   because   they   lacked   the   representational  function   of   mimetic   illustration   of   figurative   objects   outside   such  paintings11,   while   retaining   the   expressive   function   of   linguistic  signification  of  the  artist’s  inner  mental  images,  emotions  and  feelings12.  The   influence  of  Chinese  philosophy  and  Zen  Buddhism  has   led  Guo   to  

 

share  Kandinsky’s  belief  that  the  elements  in  an  abstract  painting  can  be  autonomous  because  they  lack  the  representational  function  of  mimetic  illustration,   while   rejecting   his   belief   that   these   elements   have   the  expressive   function   of   linguistic   signification   of   his   own   emotions   and  feelings.   The   representational   and   expressive   ambiguity   of   the  momentary  suspension  of  coloured  elements  in  a  painting  by  Guo  impels  a  spectator   to  more   intensely  scrutinise   this  painting   in  search  of   fixed  narratives  and  meanings.  The  failure  to  derive  such  fixed  narratives  and  meanings  encourages  a  spectator  firstly,  to   imagine  the  process  of  flux  of   the   elements   and   atmosphere   momentarily   suspended   in   this  painting;  secondly,  to  attribute  unfixed  narratives  and  meanings  to  this  flux;   thirdly,   to   become   interested   in   the   processes   used   to  make   this  painting;   and   fourthly,   to   avoid   analysing   the   whole   image   of   this  painting  into  parts.  (Text  ©  Stephen  Baycroft,  November  2012)    Notes:    1  Heidegger  M.  ‘The  Origin  of  the  Work  of  Art’  (1935-­‐6).  In:  Krell  D.  F.  (ed).  Martin  Heidegger   Basic   Writings   from   Being   and   Time   (1927)   to   The   Task   of   Thinking  (1964)  (2001).  Routledge  Classics.  London  and  New  York,  p.96-­‐7.    2  Ibid.  p.109-­‐111/114/116.    3  Ibid.  p.102.    4  Heidegger  M.   ‘The  Projection  of  Being   in  Science  and  Art’  (1931-­‐2).   In:  Figal  G.  (ed.)   The   Heidegger   Reader   (2007).   Indiana   University   Press.   Bloomington   &  Indianapolis,  p.107.    5  Olga  Musakova,   explanatory   text   for   Rodchenko’s   abstract   painting  Red   and  Yellow   (1918).   In:   Kostenevich   A.   et   al.   From   Russia.   French   and   Russian  Master  Paintings   1879-­‐1925   From  Moskow  and   St.   Petersburg   (2008).  Royal  Academy  of  Arts.  London,  p.294.    6   Stepanova  V.  Chelovek  ne  mozhet   zhit’   bez   chuda:   Pis’ma,   poeticheskie   opyty,  zapiski   khudozhnitsy   (1994).   Izdatel’stvo   Sfera.   Moskow,   p.88.   Quoted   in  Tupitsyn   M.  Malevich   and   Film   (2002).   Yale   University   Press.   New   Haven   and  London,  p.10.    7   See,   for   example,   Barnett   Newman’s   ‘Memorial   letter   for   Howard   Putzel’  (1945)   [O’Neill   J.P.   (ed.).   Barnett   Newman:   Selected   Writings   and   Interviews  (1992).  Alfred  A.  Knopf.  New  York,  p.97-­‐8]  and  ‘Response  to  Clement  Greenberg’  (1947).  (Ibid,  p.163-­‐4).    Rosenthal  S.  Black  Paintings  (2006).  Hatje  Cantz  Verlag.  Munich,  p.23/25/32.    Ibid.,  p.28.    Ibid.,  p.19/25-­‐6.    Kandinsky   W.   Point   and   Line   to   Plane   (1979,   First   Published   1926).   Dover  Publications,  Inc.,  New  York,  ‘Point’  p.26.    

 

 Kandinsky  W.  Concerning   the   Spiritual   in  Art   (1977,   First  Published   1911).  Dover  Publications,  Inc.,  New  York,  ‘VI.  The  Language  of  Form  and  Colour’  p.29.  8  Rosenthal  S.  Black  Paintings  (2006).  Hatje  Cantz  Verlag.  Munich,  p.23/25/32.  9  Ibid.,p.28.  10  Ibid.,  p.28.  11   Kandinsky   W.   Point   and   Line   to   Plane   (1979,   First   Published   1926).   Dover  Publications,  Inc.,  New  York,  ‘Point’  p.26.    12  Kandinsky  W.  Concerning  the  Spiritual  in  Art  (1977,  First  Published  1911).  Dover  Publications,  Inc.,  New  York,  ‘VI.  The  Language  of  Form  and  Colour’  p.29.  

 

 

Biography      Le  Guo  was  born  in  China  in  1964.  He  received  an  MA  in  Fine  Art  from  the  Central  Saint  Martins  College  of  Art  and  Design,  UK  and  a  BA  in  Fine  Art  from  North  West  Normal  University,  China.  He  was  invited  to  exhibit  his  work  in  the  UK  by  the  Arts  Council  of  Great  

Britain  and  the  Barbican  Centre  in  1990.  Le  Guo  lives  and  works  in  London.      Recent  Solo  and  Group  Exhibitions    2012  Creative  Cities  Collection,  Barbican  Arts  Centre,  London  2012  Restless  Envisioning,  no  format  Gallery,  Harrington  Way,  London  2012  Magma  Art  Event,  Apricot  Gallery,  The  Rag  Factory,  London  2012  Painting  and  Object  –  New  Works  by  Le  Guo  &  Jane  Cairns,  Greenwich  Heritage  Centre,  London.  2011  Salon  Art  Prize,  Matt  Roberts  Arts,  Vyner  Street,  London  2011  Desire,  The  Portman  Gallery,  Glenthorne  Road,  London  2011  Pre.Sense,  Susan  Projects,  Headington,  Oxford  2011  A  Line  of  Flight,  Collective,  37  Camden  High  Street,  London  2010  MA  Fine  Art  Degree  Show,  Central  Saint  Martins  College  of  Art  and  Design,  London  2010  Necessary  Illusions,  MA  Fine  Art  Interim  Show,  Central  Saint  Martins  College  of  Art  and  Design,  London  2009  Polytek,  Water  Lane,  Exeter,  EX2  8BZ,  Exeter    Selected  Past  Exhibitions    Le  Guo  exhibited  his  work  in  several  different  galleries  and  public  spaces  including  solo  exhibitions  at  the  Barbican  Centre,  the  Bank  of  China,  Studio  3  Gallery,  the  Zelda  Cheatle  Gallery  and  China  Art  Cultural  Centre  in  the  past.  Other  works  have  involved  a  series  of  collections  and  publications  on  an  international  scale.                    

 

01  Multichrome  Painting  –  Teal    (2012)    

   152  x  122  cm    Ink  and  pigment  on  paper    

 

02  Multichrome  Painting  –  Lemon  Yellow  &  Emerald    (2012)    

   152  x  122  cm    Ink  and  pigment  on  paper    

 

03  Multichrome  Painting  -­‐  English  Red,  Chinese  Rouge  and  Indian  Yellow      (2012)    

 152  x  201  cm    Ink  and  pigment  on  paper      

 

04  Dismantle  Mindscape  No.  1    (2011)    

 102  x  102  cm  Oil  and  acrylic  on  canvas  

 

05  Dismantle  Mindscape  No.2    (2011)    

         140.5  x  100.5  cm            Oil  and  acrylic  on  canvas    

 

 

06  Dismantle  Mindscape  No.  3    (2011)    

   

120.5  x  100.5  cm  Oil  and  acrylic  on  canvas  

     

 

07  Dismantle  Mindscape  No.  5    (2012)    

 55.5  x  55  cm    Oil  and  acrylic  on  canvas  

 

08  Emergence  Ⅰ /  2012    (2012)    

   45.5  x  35.5  cm    Oil  and  acrylic  gel  on  canvas    

 

09  Emergence  Ⅱ /2012    (2012)    

   92  x  120.5  cm    Oil,  acrylic  and  acrylic  gel  on  canvas                      

 

             10  Dynamic  Gestures  Ⅰ /2012    (2012)    

                                                   

                                                         30.5  x  20.5  cm                              Oil,  acrylic  and  acrylic  gel  on  canvas  

 

11  Dynamic  Gestures  Ⅱ /2012    (2012)    

   

 30.5  x  20.5  cm      Oil,  acrylic  and  acrylic  gel  on  canvas  

 

12  Dynamic  Gestures  Ⅳ  /  2012    (2012)    

   

30.5  x  36  cm    Oil  and  acrylic  gel  on  canvas          

 

13  Visceral  DynamismⅠ /2012    (2012)    

 80.5  x  70.5  cm    Acrylic  and  acrylic  gel  on  canvas      

 

14  Visceral  Dynamism  Ⅱ /2012    (2012)    

   100  x  75.5  cm    Oil  and  acrylic  on  canvas      

 

15  Visceral  Dynamism  Ⅲ /2011    (2011)    

   50.5  x  46  cm    Oil  and  acrylic  on  canvas      

 

16  Uninterrupted  Voice  No  1    (2010)    

   40  x  29.5  cm    Oil  on  canvas  

 

17  Uninterrupted  Voice  No  5    (2010)    

 60  x  60  cm    Oil  on  canvas    

 

18  Motion  Picture  Ⅱ /2011    (2011)    

   76.5  x  56  cm    Ink,  pigment  and  resin  on  paper  

 

19  Motion  Picture  Ⅲ /2011    (2011)    

   76.5  x  56  cm  Ink,  pigment  and  resin  on  paper    

 

20  Motion  Picture  Ⅳ /2012    (2012)        

                                                 

 76.5  x  56  cm    Ink,  pigment  and  resin  on  paper      

 

21  Motion  Picture  Ⅴ /2011    (2011)    

   66.5  x  56  cm    Ink,  pigment  and  resin  on  paper