Tomio Koyama

Zhao Xuebing

29 May - 23 Jun 2014

© Zhao Xuebing
Central Park #9, 2012
ZHAO XUEBING
29 May - 23 June 2014

Zhao Xuebing was born in 1967 in Beijing, China. He now lives and works in Shanghai, China.

Every piece, landscape paintings or improvised drawings, shows powerful and spectacular intensity as well as Zhao’s stunning ability and the richness of his detailing. The “Central Park” series, presented in this exhibition, is inspired by the landscape of the north woods area in Central Park, New York. The woods then were hit by a huge storm and the scenery became at once desolate and wildly alive, which captivated Zhao. The paintings are built up by repetitively fine strokes using a small brush applying thin oil paint. Withering leaves and falling branches pave the ground and scatter over water. With cold colors, the landscapes are overwhelmed by deep solitariness and desolation. On the other hand, as an original representation and interpretation of landscapes, Zhao’s excellence in depicting light contributes to sophisticated variations in light and shade, which makes his paintings not only reminiscent of monochrome photographs but also embrace a subtle similarity to Chinese traditional ink paintings.

Zhao Xuebing has held many exhibitions in New York, Paris, Shanghai and Singapore amongst others. In addition to solo exhibitions at Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore (2012) and the Shanghai Gallery of Art (2011), he also participated in the “From Gesture to Language” (2013) exhibition held at Rockbound Art Museum with the cooperation of the Louvre, and in the project “The Viewing Program” at The Drawing Center, New York in 2009.