Guo Hongwei’s new exhibition of watercolours is a mixed bag. Painting Is Collecting is divided into two rooms: in the first are paintings of animals, composed on a white surface, and in the second are plant and mineral specimens. They are arranged with care, and for the most part make for successful compositions.
For an artist who used a similar formula with his exhibition Things (2009), here he focuses entirely on watercolour, rather than mixing it with oil and turpentine as he did before. The subject is also new, inspired by natural history, rather than ‘things’ simply found lying around his studio. However, while
his technique is generally a refined one, his animals are less convincing. It seems too obvious that they have been painted from photographs, and even composed from them. The monkeys in ‘Animal Number 4’ look like cut-outs from a magazine, as their shadowy figures merge with the branches.
The plants, however, are a pleasure to look at. Many come from specimens the artist has collected himself, some partially dried or half destroyed. Here, as in the mineral paintings, is where we enter the world of art beyond documentation.
The plants, however, are a pleasure to look at. Many come from specimens the artist has collected himself, some partially dried or half destroyed. Here, as in the mineral paintings, is where we enter the world of art beyond documentation. Clare Pennington
Originally posted in Time Out Beijing
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