10 Chancery Lane Gallery is pleased to present Light of the Troposphere, an exhibition of new works by the young Chinese artist Pan Jian from 15 June – 15 July 2017.
Chinese artist Pan Jian presents a new body of work focussing on light, entitled, Light of the Troposphere. Continuing his exploration of landscape painting, he expands on his midnight blue night scenes of the forest to include bright white scenes as well as gold and silver luminous panels with layers of turpentine washes. His famed night scenes are shown in a series of watercolors on paper giving in to fluid forms and movement.
The spirit of traditional painting is the core in Pan Jian’s works but contemporary art is the expression. He was trained in Western contemporary art thus, the visual arrangement follows Western painting traditions yet he holds to the concepts of traditional Chinese painting as his inspiration. This new series of works are made with diverse materials of textures, which add to the diversity in expression. Pan Jian says, “I’m trying to express my understanding of painting itself in more aspects.”
The troposphere is the lowest part of the earth’s atmosphere. Pan Jian explains, “Troposphere is a virtual but very important physical space. My new works seem light blurred and it is a direct embodiment of light and wind. Trees are always in my paintings, but they are never the subject but merely the vehicles to show light or shadow. I am expressing my view towards the world and art through my paintings. The world in my eyes is just like art, mysterious and changing. Light, shadow and air form the world, and depicting these elements is the foundation and device of my expression. Contemporary is the skin while traditional is the core of my works.”
Inspired by Chinese Tang and Song Dynasty poetry and painting; being trained in contemporary Western technique of painting and composition, Pan Jian demonstrates to us his ability to bring Chinese tradition into the contemporary practice of painting. Pan Jian’s works successfully present the harmony in nature which is presented in all traditional Chinese paintings by using western materials like oil and canvas or watercolor on paper. He adds, “I am expressing my view towards the world and art through my paintings. The world in my eyes is just like art, mysterious and changing. Light, shadow and air form the world, and depicting these elements is the foundation and device of my expression.
Pan Jian was born in 1975 in Shandong Province, China. He is a professor of painting at the Xian Academy of Fine Arts. His works are collected by Uli Sigg (Switzerland), Budi Tek (Indonesia), Pierre Huber (Switzerland), DSL Collection (France), The Burger Collection, M+ museum (Hong Kong).
