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Lot Essay
Mao Xuhui was born in Chongqing in 1956. He graduated from the oil painting department of Yunnan Arts University in 1982. He was one of the central figures in the New Concrete Image movement during the 1980s and one of the most important founders of the Southwestern Art Research Group.
Mao Xuhui took a brief hiatus after the tremendous social unrest in 1989. He returned to his creative endeavours in August the same year. Human Figure in White: Escape (Lot 162) is a pivotal work that connects two major series in his artist career. It concluded the Figure series, and the parents motif in the Parents series was originated here. At the time, Mao Xuhui was very much engrossed in investigating the process of painting, such as the thickness of texture and the production methods. In Human Figure in White: Escape, the space, the narrative, and the texture on the figure convey a sense of restlessness, fear, anger, and hopelessness. The white figure with the shrivelled skin is taking a big stride to leave the picture frame. It seems like he is escaping from the predicaments of life. Perhaps he is escaping from the mental oppression of the “authoritarian context”. The artist said, “Other than trying to reach the philosophical state of mind of Laozi and Zhuangzi, it is more important to struggle against fate. That is the spirit of the contemporary era.” The artist uses the painting medium and the literati state of mind to compel the viewers to rethink history.
Mao Xuhui took a brief hiatus after the tremendous social unrest in 1989. He returned to his creative endeavours in August the same year. Human Figure in White: Escape (Lot 162) is a pivotal work that connects two major series in his artist career. It concluded the Figure series, and the parents motif in the Parents series was originated here. At the time, Mao Xuhui was very much engrossed in investigating the process of painting, such as the thickness of texture and the production methods. In Human Figure in White: Escape, the space, the narrative, and the texture on the figure convey a sense of restlessness, fear, anger, and hopelessness. The white figure with the shrivelled skin is taking a big stride to leave the picture frame. It seems like he is escaping from the predicaments of life. Perhaps he is escaping from the mental oppression of the “authoritarian context”. The artist said, “Other than trying to reach the philosophical state of mind of Laozi and Zhuangzi, it is more important to struggle against fate. That is the spirit of the contemporary era.” The artist uses the painting medium and the literati state of mind to compel the viewers to rethink history.