Xu Hongming: The Form of the Formless 大道之形

In philosophy, approach, and practice, Xu Hongming has been breaking the barriers of conventional Chinese art for more than four decades. He infuses pure abstraction of the Western tradition with Daoist philosophy, straddling a dynamic tension between the traditional and the modern. Layering mineral powder on canvas, Xu creates luminous paintings that oscillate between poetic fields of color. Qualia’s solo presentation will include “Four Seasons”, a new body of work within the artist’s ongoing series “Not Clouds, Not Fog, Not Qi”. The overarching series “Not Clouds, Not Fog, Not Qi” is an ongoing effort by Xu to free shanshui paintings from a heavily codified and rule-bound restrictive literati tradition. Xu counts amongst his influences the Song dynasty master painter Mi Fu (1052–1107), who was widely admired during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Xu also looks to the expansive desert landscapes of the Hexi Corridor and the Tang dynasty mausoleum murals and grotto paintings nearby that inspired him as a rebellious young art student. In the artist’s own words, “To me, painting landscapes is not about painting the unusual or the perilous, but the grandeur and the totality of the landscape.” Accordingly, Xu describes his painting practice as “trying to envision the wholeness of the universe, of the matter that is ever-present, if not readily visible.” He continues: “To me, painting is about integrating different materials, colors, and emotions. In many ways, so is life. I want my paintings to be open spaces that the viewer can enter into, and then leave behind.”