In the works of artist Zhang Qinghui, there has always been an inner appeal, which is the desire to "be with the world".
"Co-existence with the world" is a term in the phenomenology of the German philosopher Heidegger. In Heidegger's view, the original state of man is co-existing with the world, but the so-called rationality, civilization, and technology ......However, it separates people from the world, so it is difficult for people today to truly understand the world, and how to break through the barrier of understanding the "double world" has become a common state of contemporary people.
Runaway Rabbit, oil on canvas, 40, 50cm, 2022
Flowers Bloom and Fall, Oil on canvas, 120, 80cm, 2018
Journey, Oil on canvas, 40, 60cm, 2022
Removing the masking has become a consistent theme in Qinghui's works. In Qinghui's paintings, all the objects in people's daily lives are "moved" to the outdoor "world". The walls of the house are almost gone, and the objects of daily life are "opened" to the outside world, and people return to the embrace of the world.
Return to the Future, Oil on canvas, 60, 90cm, 2022
Left in the Distance, Oil on canvas, 120, 80cm, 2013
From the perspective of architecture, the significance of the roof wall is to shelter from the wind and rain and to seek safety, but it objectively blocks the relationship between man and the world, and destroys the original symbiotic relationship between man and the world. Of course, the roof wall is nothing more than a symbolic rhetoric, which represents all the cultural products that separate people from the world: architecture, Xi customs, institutions, rationality, ......
Where is the Past?, Oil on canvas, 120, 80cm, 2018
Appointment for Tomorrow, Oil on canvas, 60, 90cm, 2017
Qinghui's works juxtapose various landscapes, but they tend to produce a surrealist sense of absurdity. Especially in the "So Close, So Far" series, those few works in brown tones are impressive.
So Close, So Far - 23, Oil on canvas, 120, 80cm, 2013
So Close, So Far - 27, Oil on canvas, 120, 80cm, 2015
She deliberately hazy the picture, and the table, bed and other objects are placed in the almost lifeless wasteland, as if they have been abandoned for many years.
Since the "house wall" no longer exists, the chandeliers, doors, curtains and other living objects have become "pavilions in the sky" and have nowhere to take root, which is indeed reminiscent of the dreamlike effect created by Magritte and others in their works.
So Close, So Far - 37, Oil on canvas 120 80cm 2019
So Close, So Far - 38" Oil on canvas 120 80cm 2020
If some of Qinghui's works provide people with utopian imagination, the absurdity here seems to be an aesthetic reflection. The picture evokes an inexplicable anxiety, which may come from the separation of man from the world, from the sense of exile that cannot be restored to his true state.
The Story of Being Taken Away by Clouds, Oil on canvas, 120, 60cm, 2014
I especially like her 2014 work, "The Past Taken Away by the Clouds". The lonely wasteland, as far as the eye can see, with no trace of green in sight, and the old single sofa tells its own story alone, but we can't hear it.
She deliberately subtracted from the picture, except for the single sofa, we can only see the land that seems to be no longer able to give birth to life. The painting is very reminiscent of Van Gogh's painting, "Peasant Shoes", which is also a shabby man-made object and the same desolate background. Old sofas, like farm shoes, are a representation of "people" and have cultural significance because they leave traces of people.
With it, the viewer can perceive history and discover hidden meanings. The brilliance of the work lies in the fact that it does not present meaning clearly, but leaves infinite room for imagination to supplement itself.
Silence in the Distance-18, Oil on canvas, 60, 90cm, 2021
Silence in the Distance-19, Oil on canvas, 60, 90cm, 2022
Qinghui's works provide people with such an imagination and such a way of empathy. We can imagine ourselves lying on the couch, tasting the fragrance of the air, listening to the tides of the sea, watching the twinkling of the stars, and looking at the flocks of sheep in the distanceOr grab a handful of dirt and enjoy the smell of it.
Not all artworks are obscure, and artists sometimes simply want to provide us with an imaginable utopia where you can build your own world.
Text: Yin Dan (the author is a Ph.D. from Tsinghua University and a young critic).
Editor: Liu Yang.
Supervisor: Zhao Liang.