Gu Benchi was born in Shanghai in 1979. He was inspired by one of the abstract art pioneers Piet Mondrian and has taken geometric abstraction to a new level in his artworks. By way of using colored high-strength polyester thread he weaves multi-layered configurations playing with balance, harmony, symmetry, perspective and light.
Gu Benchi begins his works striving towards a sense of order. He believes the universe is organized with an unseen and subtle order and that human beings naturally aspire towards order over chaos.
Following the principles of geometry, the selected works begin with the shapes of square, rectangle and triangle that further become stars or diamonds or pure abstraction through the intertwining of the polyester threads. These interesting patterns are strikingly similar to the ceilings of ancient Chinese architecture and the altar structure in Buddhist paintings.
In Chinese traditional culture, everything in the universe is cyclical, there is no definite beginning or end. The lines in Gu Benchi’s works continue to intertwine and overlap where the beginning and the end are undetectable. This overlapping of the frontal surface over the underlying grid gives a powerful and rich visual effect of illusionistic perspectival space.
Gu explains, “scattered energy will eventually concentrate and erupt by constantly repeating, accumulating and overlapping the same object.” The layered material and vivid colors of Gu’s works give the audience a much stronger and complex feeling and enter the “infinite” universe. Gu states, “Rationality, mathematics, geometric structure and a sense of order are the characteristics that show through in my works and are also elements in our daily lives. An artist’s work should reflect society while also expressing the artist’s own feelings.”
