Huang Gang
Huang Gang
From his childhood to his youth, Chinese society was in turmoil during the Cultural Revolution. Due to the influence of his family (his father is a famous professor of Chinese art history and his mother is a famous connoisseur of cultural relics), he has been exposed to excellent traditional Chinese art since childhood, and learned painting and calligraphy.
In 1980, he was admitted to the Central Academy of Art and Design with excellent results. At this time, it was in the early stage of China's reforms. Along with the society's reflection on the Cultural Revolution, a cultural movement that sought the freedom of artistic expression and the realization of the enlightenment role of art in social changes emerged. He was deeply attracted by this movement when he was a student. , Since then established his ideal of artistic life.
In the early 1990s, with China's reform and opening up and the deepening of the market economy, the material civilization, cultural thoughts and lifestyles of Western society affected China and Chinese artists. The contradictions of society, the turbulence of reforms, the conflict between ideals and reality have given this generation of artists tremendous creative power, which is unique in the world. In this social background, how Chinese artists survive and how to think about how to behave has attracted the attention of the whole world. At the end of the 1990s, Huang Gang resigned from the faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University to devote himself to a career as a professional artist, opening the door to another world for himself. In the era of change, he has been thinking about how to adhere to the cultural value characteristics of the East and maintain its independence in the contemporary cultural structure dominated by the West.
He created some paintings based on Chinese calligraphy in his early days. Chinese calligraphy is a collection and representative of Chinese traditional culture, and it contains cosmic consciousness and philosophical ideas that have been multiplying since ancient times. In his works, traditional calligraphy has been given new meanings. He removed or weakened the recognizable and ideographic functions of calligraphy characters, strengthened some of the painting characteristics of calligraphy, and at the same time used modern artistic expression language to highlight the visual meaning of calligraphy. And abstract qualities in aesthetics. From the structure of the picture, the rhythm of the line movement, and the power and speed of the brushstrokes, the indifferent and tranquil charm of the Eastern "Zen" is reflected. In his works, I can't see the straightforward and intense emotional catharsis of Western Expressionism, and some are harmonious and moderate, with internal logical composition form and free and poetic passion. The viewer may not know the meaning of these words. What is presented in front of you is an artistic manifestation of the oriental spirit. "In my early creations, I can see the huge influence of traditional Chinese culture. I am pursuing a very oriental aesthetic ideal. Although I use modern comprehensive painting materials and expressive techniques, and a minimalist style, in general my paintings show the spiritual temperament of the East. It is in my blood and I have no choice."
From the 1980s to the 1990s, it was very popular in mainland China to create works of art with Tibetan themes. Most people were loyal to expressing the magnificent natural environment and unique customs of Tibet that were mysterious and not polluted by modern civilization. Popularity reached its climax. Huang Gang also had a keen interest in Tibetan culture, religion, and art at that time, and started collecting classical Tibetan paintings and artworks, studying the social, religious, and philosophical background of this art. This profoundly affected his later creative path.
After several years of writing with Chinese calligraphy as the theme, Huang Gang's works have undergone a huge change in themes and styles, and entered a new era, creating a series of Tibetan writing works. But he did it in an unprecedented artistic way different from other artists. He used Tibetan traditional woodcut Buddhist scripture printing plates, hand-copied Buddhist scriptures and ancient Tibetan leather boxes as installation materials, combined with mineral pigments, acrylic paints, traditional Chinese lacquer pigments, gold leaf and rice paper. Some of these materials themselves have rich spiritual and cultural connotations. For example, the ancient woodcut Buddhist scriptures were carved by monks who practiced in Tibetan monasteries. Recite the scriptures and repeat this kind of work day after day to solve liberation. This woodcut Buddhist scripture itself carries the monk's Kashi, which has great spiritual power, and this energy is conveyed to modern people with new meaning and shock through the artist's re-creation.
Watching these works, Tibet’s ancient culture and modern civilization have been expressed very novel and profoundly. In the magnificent momentum and free and smooth performance of the picture, the strong visual tension and the spiritual temperament of the artist spread out quietly, not with Religious is an artistic way of embodying power, passion, and the absurdity of life. The artist uses artistic methods to interpret and talk about the differences, contradictions, and conflicts between ancient ideology and culture and modern civilization, so that it has a relationship with the lives and thoughts of contemporary people, and reveals the problems and problems faced by contemporary people. To express the artist's humanistic care at the height of human nature. His creative process is a process of constructing, destroying and re-constructing the original culture, which is the characteristic of the intellectuals of an era. Huang Gang grew up with the Cultural Revolution in elementary school, and has experienced the baptism of different worldviews, more independent thinking and critical spirit, and more attention to the essence of society and human nature. For example, his five-star series, scripture series, box series. The five stars represent revolution, violence and passion; while the woodcut Buddhist scriptures represent peace and the pursuit of inner cultivation; the box represents the warmth in life. These elements respectively reflect different aspects of human nature. They are interdependent and contradictory in the works, sometimes conflicting and sometimes constructing, just like our lives, both realistic and absurd, full of contradictions and full of vitality.
In recent years, Huang Gang's art works have been exhibited many times around the world. He has held solo exhibitions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States and other countries and Hong Kong and achieved great success. It has been recognized and highly praised by audiences from different countries and regions with different cultural backgrounds.
In 1980, he was admitted to the Central Academy of Art and Design with excellent results. At this time, it was in the early stage of China's reforms. Along with the society's reflection on the Cultural Revolution, a cultural movement that sought the freedom of artistic expression and the realization of the enlightenment role of art in social changes emerged. He was deeply attracted by this movement when he was a student. , Since then established his ideal of artistic life.
In the early 1990s, with China's reform and opening up and the deepening of the market economy, the material civilization, cultural thoughts and lifestyles of Western society affected China and Chinese artists. The contradictions of society, the turbulence of reforms, the conflict between ideals and reality have given this generation of artists tremendous creative power, which is unique in the world. In this social background, how Chinese artists survive and how to think about how to behave has attracted the attention of the whole world. At the end of the 1990s, Huang Gang resigned from the faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University to devote himself to a career as a professional artist, opening the door to another world for himself. In the era of change, he has been thinking about how to adhere to the cultural value characteristics of the East and maintain its independence in the contemporary cultural structure dominated by the West.
He created some paintings based on Chinese calligraphy in his early days. Chinese calligraphy is a collection and representative of Chinese traditional culture, and it contains cosmic consciousness and philosophical ideas that have been multiplying since ancient times. In his works, traditional calligraphy has been given new meanings. He removed or weakened the recognizable and ideographic functions of calligraphy characters, strengthened some of the painting characteristics of calligraphy, and at the same time used modern artistic expression language to highlight the visual meaning of calligraphy. And abstract qualities in aesthetics. From the structure of the picture, the rhythm of the line movement, and the power and speed of the brushstrokes, the indifferent and tranquil charm of the Eastern "Zen" is reflected. In his works, I can't see the straightforward and intense emotional catharsis of Western Expressionism, and some are harmonious and moderate, with internal logical composition form and free and poetic passion. The viewer may not know the meaning of these words. What is presented in front of you is an artistic manifestation of the oriental spirit. "In my early creations, I can see the huge influence of traditional Chinese culture. I am pursuing a very oriental aesthetic ideal. Although I use modern comprehensive painting materials and expressive techniques, and a minimalist style, in general my paintings show the spiritual temperament of the East. It is in my blood and I have no choice."
From the 1980s to the 1990s, it was very popular in mainland China to create works of art with Tibetan themes. Most people were loyal to expressing the magnificent natural environment and unique customs of Tibet that were mysterious and not polluted by modern civilization. Popularity reached its climax. Huang Gang also had a keen interest in Tibetan culture, religion, and art at that time, and started collecting classical Tibetan paintings and artworks, studying the social, religious, and philosophical background of this art. This profoundly affected his later creative path.
After several years of writing with Chinese calligraphy as the theme, Huang Gang's works have undergone a huge change in themes and styles, and entered a new era, creating a series of Tibetan writing works. But he did it in an unprecedented artistic way different from other artists. He used Tibetan traditional woodcut Buddhist scripture printing plates, hand-copied Buddhist scriptures and ancient Tibetan leather boxes as installation materials, combined with mineral pigments, acrylic paints, traditional Chinese lacquer pigments, gold leaf and rice paper. Some of these materials themselves have rich spiritual and cultural connotations. For example, the ancient woodcut Buddhist scriptures were carved by monks who practiced in Tibetan monasteries. Recite the scriptures and repeat this kind of work day after day to solve liberation. This woodcut Buddhist scripture itself carries the monk's Kashi, which has great spiritual power, and this energy is conveyed to modern people with new meaning and shock through the artist's re-creation.
Watching these works, Tibet’s ancient culture and modern civilization have been expressed very novel and profoundly. In the magnificent momentum and free and smooth performance of the picture, the strong visual tension and the spiritual temperament of the artist spread out quietly, not with Religious is an artistic way of embodying power, passion, and the absurdity of life. The artist uses artistic methods to interpret and talk about the differences, contradictions, and conflicts between ancient ideology and culture and modern civilization, so that it has a relationship with the lives and thoughts of contemporary people, and reveals the problems and problems faced by contemporary people. To express the artist's humanistic care at the height of human nature. His creative process is a process of constructing, destroying and re-constructing the original culture, which is the characteristic of the intellectuals of an era. Huang Gang grew up with the Cultural Revolution in elementary school, and has experienced the baptism of different worldviews, more independent thinking and critical spirit, and more attention to the essence of society and human nature. For example, his five-star series, scripture series, box series. The five stars represent revolution, violence and passion; while the woodcut Buddhist scriptures represent peace and the pursuit of inner cultivation; the box represents the warmth in life. These elements respectively reflect different aspects of human nature. They are interdependent and contradictory in the works, sometimes conflicting and sometimes constructing, just like our lives, both realistic and absurd, full of contradictions and full of vitality.
In recent years, Huang Gang's art works have been exhibited many times around the world. He has held solo exhibitions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States and other countries and Hong Kong and achieved great success. It has been recognized and highly praised by audiences from different countries and regions with different cultural backgrounds.
Exhibitions
Selected Works