Wei Dong "Happy Moment" 2008
I am so excited for Wei Dong's new show at Nicholas Robinson Gallery that I'm having trouble stringing words together. Instead, I offer some choice excerpts from the press release:
"Most of the works depict a single hybrid female figure, naked or semi-naked, and with legs that culminate in a fish tail. These paintings, whilst rendered in the artist’s superbly fastidious realist style, are generally more fanciful and self-reflective than previous bodies of work...
Though obviously fictive, the ‘fish girls’ are painted in order to appear compellingly real, as they are rendered in a fashion that defies idealization.
...[T]he artist discusses his work in detail:
' The references or scenes themselves are not as relevant as some may think…There is no story here. The fish girls are both the subject and the tool. They are fantastical and do not exist in reality…a normal scene appears mysterious, fish and girl merge into one, animal instinct is humanized, and human desire is animalized.' "
Though obviously fictive, the ‘fish girls’ are painted in order to appear compellingly real, as they are rendered in a fashion that defies idealization.
...[T]he artist discusses his work in detail:
' The references or scenes themselves are not as relevant as some may think…There is no story here. The fish girls are both the subject and the tool. They are fantastical and do not exist in reality…a normal scene appears mysterious, fish and girl merge into one, animal instinct is humanized, and human desire is animalized.' "
The gorgeous mermaid paintings can be seen from February 26th until April 4th. I. Am. Floating!
Look at me adding a comment! I'd love to check this show out if you want some company...? We can give Freeman the slip and have a real date!
Posted by: Desmond | February 25, 2009 at 11:13 PM