Mao Xuhui's artworks are an individual response to modern history
Like many of his contemporaries, mainland artist Mao Xuhui has developed a kind of branding identity for his work through the repeated use of certain symbols and figurative objects.
TOPPLED PARENT
Hanart TZ Gallery
Like many of his contemporaries, mainland artist Mao Xuhui has developed a kind of branding identity for his work through the repeated use of certain symbols and figurative objects. But while it's no surprise to find a variety of chair and scissor paintings at his latest solo show at Hanart TZ Gallery, the artist insists that his works are far from "simple acts of repetition".
"Although each of my paintings offers a similar image or content, it also presents vast possibilities of expression," says Mao, who was heavily influenced by expressionism in his early days.
Mao was the leader of the avant-garde community in southwest China in the 1980s, having organised the touring exhibition "New Concrete Image" with painters like Zhang Xiaogang and Pan Dehai in 1985. He also formed the Southwest Art Research Group with several artists in the following year.
"I don't think I've exhausted the idea or I'd be looking for a change," he continues. "Once you give a new meaning that's not inherent in the chairs and the scissors, you have to take responsibility for it. You have to make your meanings clear — sometimes with more than one or two paintings, or more than a few words. It takes time to finish the process."