Gao Xintong
“The Untitled portraiture series focuses on expressing a kind of sentiment, the Shan Shui/landscape of the soul. The result of the painting tells the story of its own making process, just like how in a Shan Shui painting the viewer can perceive the dynamism of its making. The works urge the viewers to look beyond the figurative and to experience the Shan Shui spirit.”
“Bamboo is a common element in Shan Shui paintings. The Cyberbambù series depicts the bamboo forest in such a way that the viewer enters into the space of the landscape, thus becoming a part of the Shan Shui realm. Additionally, like Shan Shui paintings, it does not delineate the whole world at once, rather it stops when there is just enough to hint at the artistic sentiment and leaves the rest to imagination.”
Young emerging artist Gao Xintong (b. 1998 in Liaoning, China) graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, Italy, and he’s now rapidly gaining international attention due to his bold and innovative compositions. Gao Xintong’s artistic practice focuses on deconstructing and reconstructing visual elements through the use of vivid colours. His work can be perceived as a “Portrait Shan-Shui” where the emphasis is on the subjectivity of the painted object and empty spaces play a significant role in the composition. Like in the ancient Taoist philosophy, emptiness in his work is conceived as a dynamic force, which enables each depicted element to emerge and gain vitality.
