fable and the prophet: inside and outside the red line

Oil Paintings by Yang Xiaolu | Feb 26 - Apr 17, 2021

ABOUT

With a fascination toward cosmic myth and supernatural power, Yang Xiaolu’s interests lie in the juxtaposition of eccentric objects that has symbolic meanings with historically or socially significant locations. In this new series, he intuitively places fictional characters or imaginary objects, such as UFOs and Santa Claus, under the harmonious night sky of Zhongnanhai, adding a surrealist and humorous vibe to his representational style.

Sunzen Art Gallery

420 Howe St., Vancouver | FEB 26 - APR 17, 2021

Curated by Viahsta Yuan

With a fascination toward cosmic myth and supernatural power, Yang Xiaolu’s interests lie in the juxtaposition of eccentric objects that has symbolic meanings with historically or socially significant locations. In this new series, he intuitively places fictional characters or imaginary objects, such as UFOs and Santa Claus, under the harmonious night sky of Zhongnanhai, adding a surrealist and humorous vibe to his representational style.

Zhongnanhai was built in the Ming Dynasty (1406). It had served generations of emperors as the imperial garden and had become the central headquarters and State Council of the Communist Party in 1949. A childhood encounter allowed Yang to briefly observe Zhongnanhai from far away, and that encounter has planted a seed of dialectics that nurtured his artistic creation for many years.

The Chinese-Canadian artist Yang Xiaolu investigates his ambivalent emotion towards his home country, restrictions and centralization, as well as the confrontation of culture between the East and the West. With the laser-like red lines marking visible and invisible boundaries across the landscape, the artist showcases his intimate and complex emotion towards the location, and draws us back to the present and struck us with his manifestation of the current crisis.

ESSAYS

Forward by Zheng Shengtian

Senior Curator, Adjunct Director at Institute of Asian Art of Vancouver Art Gallery

Under the Curtain of Prophecies - Note from Curator by Viahsta Yuan

An Endless Journey - About Xiaolu’s Fabel and the Prophet by MOON HYEYOUNG

Art historian, critic

An Interview with Xiaolu by Viahsta Yuan

ABOUT THE ARTIST | YANG XIAOLU 杨晓鲁

Born 1979 in Beijing, China.

Yang Xiaolu is an artist and art educator from Beijing who currently lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. He studied painting in the Fine Art Department of Beijing Normal University from 1994 to 1997. Then he continued his study in the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia, major in oil painting, and was admitted to the Dean’s studio to work with the well-established artist Prof. Oleg Alexandrovich Yeremeyev. In 2003, his work “A Portrait of Edvard Munch” was exhibited and collected by the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway. In 2004, he graduate from the Repin Academy of Fine Arts with a master’s degree in Oil Painting, and a Ph.D. in Art History. In 2007, Yang’s solo exhibition “The Visitor of All Living Beings - Xiaolu Oil Painting Exhibition” opened in one of the major contemporary art museums, Today Art Museum, in Beijing. Later on, he participated actively in Art Beijing, Art 021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Art Taipei and Art New York from 2012 to 2019. In addition, he collaborated with Shanghai Renji Hotel, a 4-star luxury hotel, and open his permanent showroom, and two other permanent exhibition spaces in Beijing and Tianjin. He taught oil painting in the Fine Art Department of Xu Beihong Art College till 2019.

Full Artist CV