Scholar Stone Blue & Green - 1802
180 x 122 cm
Acrylic on Canvas
2018

The Scholar Stone Series
The Scholar Stones Series explores an important philosophical question: “Where do I come from.” I hope to learn the language of the stone and turn it into my own language. Every stone has a different expression, which is something difficult to describe. In these paintings, you can find all kinds of emotions, and they are the manifestations of the paint brush. I used different techniques and strokes of Chinese calligraphy, creating not a character, but a painting. Although the structures of these paintings seem very spontaneous, not one careless stroke could be found. When I was painting the stones, I hoped not only to admire them, depicting them as the ancients. Neither did I want to conquer them, creating something completely unrecognizable. I was trying to feel them and painted what I understood about them. It is kind of interesting to depict the stones as “thin,” “open,” “perforated” and “wrinkled,” as well as “ugly,” “majestic,” “strange” and “clumsy.” Nevertheless, the stones' happiness and sadness should also be depicted. The only way to capture the beauty of the stones is to let them be free. The Scholar Stones Series is about the deep attachment that the people from Jiangnan have for their homeland, which I believe will always be a source of inspiration for artists.