ArtDepot is pleased to announce that it will present a group exhibition titled "Image and Imagination" at its space in the 798 Art Zone, Beijing. The exhibition will feature selected works on canvas by artists Cai Qi, Lu Lu, Lin Zhibin, and Yang Jinyu. The exhibition will open on Saturday, January 11, 2025, and run until February 23, 2025.
Preface:
"image" is a discussion object that cannot be bypassed in all paintings and other visual artistic creations, and the root of "image" comes from the Latin imar, meaning "similar copy". However, with the change of linguistics and art history, "image" not only retains its original meaning, that is, "copy of any visual picture" or "image formed by mirror image", but also expands into a new reference. Not only does it represent a transcription, but the part of the "image" associated with the "imagination" leads to those "psychologically generated images." As in Plato's ancient fable of the cave, the meaning of "image" has long gone beyond the shadowy firelight on the cave walls, and the image has become not only a copy of the real world, but also extends the boundaries of the unknowable realm of imagination.
Cai Qi's painting uses both a spray gun and a brush, and the uniform and hazy color layers produced by the spray gun constitute a visual impression like a "filter". When the surrounding area recurs back here, the artist's organic depiction of blocks, toys, and other inorganic objects in the ceremonial scene emerges with delicate and full brush strokes, achieving a strong grasp of the visual center of the subject.
Lulu's creation, on the other hand, has a more playful deconstructing of painting. Images from art history and daily experience, as media, are produced on the hemp canvas with the logic of screen printing after processing, as a special copy of the artist. The putty and color material bearing the image are repeatedly polished and scraped, and the rough texture and traces are mixed with the information contained in it. It is the artist's vigilance to communication and the re-discussion of cognitive order.
Lin Zhibin's oil paintings have delicate brushstrokes and soft tones. Fruit and still life in Lin Zhibin's paintings have a dramatic composition, and the "sense of balance" is an interesting feature worth paying attention to. Whether peaches are stacked in layers like traditional fruits, or wrapped and pulled by thin red lines and light lace, peaches are fresh, full and balanced with strength. Create a unique tranquility and beauty;
Yang Jinyu's processing of images highlights a distinctive individual language. In his paintings, the use of colors is clean and pure, and the color blocks with clear boundaries form the image and scene. The pleasant scene and poetic composition constructed a picture filled with Jingtian's breath. There are long and romantic holidays woven for the viewer.
As Susan Sontag pointed out after the emergence of photography in the 20th century, the image in painting has gone beyond the limitation of being a copy of the material world and has become a bridge linking individual cognition and the external world. The images under the artist's pen continue to carry the most exquisite inspiration and expression in their unique ways. It expands the boundaries of imagination and the dimensions of thinking.
