Bao Pei：Aurora Blossom
Sep 23 - Oct 14, 2023
Sep 23 - Oct 14, 2023
Press Release
Bao Pei：Aurora Blossom
2023.9.23-2023.10.14
Whitebox Art Center
Time marches forward inevitably—from night to day, as all flowers wither at full bloom, and the light diminishes into the void of the night sky. Embarking from reality, an optimistic pessimist leaps into the abyss and does not succumb to destiny—the great joy and sadness of life all encapsulated in this moment of eternity. This is the blossom of an aurora. “Aurora Blossom,” the title of this exhibition, offers the audience three layers of interpretation: the contrast between stillness (aurora) and movement (blossom) conjures up a Shakespearean sense of tragedy, a burning desire for love; nature evinces the relationship between humans and the world under the rendition of the artist’s painterly language, offering us a humanistic landscape; and the intricate techniques engender the liberating rhythm and inner order of the composition.
Bao Bei’s singular style originated from her sentimentality towards life. After a decade of working in painting, one day, she came across a piece of textured handmade paper, a bottle of powder tempera, and the scent of woodblock ink, which seemed to have awakened a memory from a distant past—woodblock print. Based on her previous education at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Art, her works are no longer by the woodblock printing tradition when she utilizes her chisel in the manner of a brush on the block. The combination of chiseling and painting with ink and powder tempera gives rise to her works at their full glory. After merging the qualities of printmaking and oil painting, the artist has constructed a new language; and after almost a decade of ceaseless experimentation with styles and materials, she presents us with a body of works that encompasses works on paper, paintings, and light installations.
The artist’s creative process is to translate her emotions, which she recorded in the form of text, into the action of painting, projecting her vision into a multilayer of organization and layout. Her images are states of emotional outbursts, multilayered in a complex cycle, released in restraint to arrive at boundless and extremely expressive forms—retracted and paused.
WhiteBox Art Center is pleased to present Bao Bei’s solo exhibition “Aurora Blossom” on September 23rd, which brings together her recent works from the last two years. The exhibition will continue until October 14th.
2023.9.23-2023.10.14
Whitebox Art Center
Time marches forward inevitably—from night to day, as all flowers wither at full bloom, and the light diminishes into the void of the night sky. Embarking from reality, an optimistic pessimist leaps into the abyss and does not succumb to destiny—the great joy and sadness of life all encapsulated in this moment of eternity. This is the blossom of an aurora. “Aurora Blossom,” the title of this exhibition, offers the audience three layers of interpretation: the contrast between stillness (aurora) and movement (blossom) conjures up a Shakespearean sense of tragedy, a burning desire for love; nature evinces the relationship between humans and the world under the rendition of the artist’s painterly language, offering us a humanistic landscape; and the intricate techniques engender the liberating rhythm and inner order of the composition.
Bao Bei’s singular style originated from her sentimentality towards life. After a decade of working in painting, one day, she came across a piece of textured handmade paper, a bottle of powder tempera, and the scent of woodblock ink, which seemed to have awakened a memory from a distant past—woodblock print. Based on her previous education at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Art, her works are no longer by the woodblock printing tradition when she utilizes her chisel in the manner of a brush on the block. The combination of chiseling and painting with ink and powder tempera gives rise to her works at their full glory. After merging the qualities of printmaking and oil painting, the artist has constructed a new language; and after almost a decade of ceaseless experimentation with styles and materials, she presents us with a body of works that encompasses works on paper, paintings, and light installations.
The artist’s creative process is to translate her emotions, which she recorded in the form of text, into the action of painting, projecting her vision into a multilayer of organization and layout. Her images are states of emotional outbursts, multilayered in a complex cycle, released in restraint to arrive at boundless and extremely expressive forms—retracted and paused.
WhiteBox Art Center is pleased to present Bao Bei’s solo exhibition “Aurora Blossom” on September 23rd, which brings together her recent works from the last two years. The exhibition will continue until October 14th.
Curator Article
Aurora Blossom
Time marches forward inevitably—from night to day, as all flowers wither at full bloom, and the light diminishes into the void of the night sky. Embarking from reality, an optimistic pessimist leaps into the abyss and does not succumb to destiny—the great joy and sadness of life all encapsulated in this moment of eternity. This is the blossom of an aurora. “Aurora Blossom,” the title of this exhibition, offers the audience three layers of interpretation: the contrast between stillness (aurora) and movement (blossom) conjures up a Shakespearean sense of tragedy, a burning desire for love; nature evinces the relationship between humans and the world under the rendition of the artist’s painterly language, offering us a humanistic landscape; and the intricate techniques engender the liberating rhythm and inner order of the composition.
Bao Pei’s singular style originated from her sentimentality towards life. After a decade of working in painting, one day, she came across a piece of textured handmade paper, a bottle of powder tempera, and the scent of woodblock ink, which seemed to have awakened a memory from a distant past—woodblock print. Based on her previous education at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Art, her works are no longer by the woodblock printing tradition when she utilizes her chisel in the manner of a brush on the block. The combination of chiseling and painting with ink and powder tempera gives rise to her works at their full glory. After merging the qualities of printmaking and oil painting, the artist has constructed a new language; and after almost a decade of ceaseless experimentation with styles and materials, she presents us with a body of works that encompasses works on paper, paintings, and light installations.
The artist’s creative process is to translate her emotions, which she recorded in the form of text, into the action of painting, projecting her vision into a multilayer of organization and layout. Her images are states of emotional outbursts, multilayered in a complex cycle, released in restraint to arrive at boundless and extremely expressive forms—retracted and paused.
Time marches forward inevitably—from night to day, as all flowers wither at full bloom, and the light diminishes into the void of the night sky. Embarking from reality, an optimistic pessimist leaps into the abyss and does not succumb to destiny—the great joy and sadness of life all encapsulated in this moment of eternity. This is the blossom of an aurora. “Aurora Blossom,” the title of this exhibition, offers the audience three layers of interpretation: the contrast between stillness (aurora) and movement (blossom) conjures up a Shakespearean sense of tragedy, a burning desire for love; nature evinces the relationship between humans and the world under the rendition of the artist’s painterly language, offering us a humanistic landscape; and the intricate techniques engender the liberating rhythm and inner order of the composition.
Bao Pei’s singular style originated from her sentimentality towards life. After a decade of working in painting, one day, she came across a piece of textured handmade paper, a bottle of powder tempera, and the scent of woodblock ink, which seemed to have awakened a memory from a distant past—woodblock print. Based on her previous education at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Art, her works are no longer by the woodblock printing tradition when she utilizes her chisel in the manner of a brush on the block. The combination of chiseling and painting with ink and powder tempera gives rise to her works at their full glory. After merging the qualities of printmaking and oil painting, the artist has constructed a new language; and after almost a decade of ceaseless experimentation with styles and materials, she presents us with a body of works that encompasses works on paper, paintings, and light installations.
The artist’s creative process is to translate her emotions, which she recorded in the form of text, into the action of painting, projecting her vision into a multilayer of organization and layout. Her images are states of emotional outbursts, multilayered in a complex cycle, released in restraint to arrive at boundless and extremely expressive forms—retracted and paused.