Created By
Ji Dachun (季大纯)
Oil on canvas
Curator
Luke Chapman
In the rare work by Ji Dachun entitled "Five Elements," the artist demonstrates his ability to portray symbolic and familiar aspects of life—in this case, the five elements: wood, water, fire, sky, and gold. These elements are transcendent; while limited in number, they somehow represent a complete vision of a wide, open space. This literal and typical vastness appears inspired by traditional Chinese landscape painting.
Ji is celebrated for his surrealist, satirical critiques of contemporary China, often employing a wry sense of humor and a sharp self-critical edge. His paintings range from cryptic caricatures and cartoonish perversity to abstract quasi-landscapes and still lifes, marked by bizarre visual juxtapositions and a resistance to conventional interpretation. In recent years, Ji has turned increasingly toward abstraction, leveraging the compositional structures of traditional Chinese landscape painting to explore psychological and psycho-spiritual landscapes. "My paintings are closely connected to my personal life experiences and living environment. Deeply indulged in fear and loneliness, I am positively facing the cruel reality and culture clash with conviction, while at the same time questioning the existence of such a dream." —Ji Dachun
Created By
Ji Dachun (季大纯)
60 x 51 cm | 24 x 20 in
2004
