Enlightenment
Sep 5 – Oct 3, 2020
Opening: Saturday, Sep 5, 4 – 7pm
Whitestone Gallery
7- 8/F H Queen’s
80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Whitestone Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Ren Sihong, one of the most prominent Chinese artists who were born in the 1960s and have flourished since the late 1980s, significantly shaping China’s contemporary art history. The exhibition will showcase the artist’s works created in the last three years, the ‘Black and White’ series which started in 2017, ‘Value of Colors’, started in 2018, and ‘Spirit of Flowers’, started early this year during the pandemic period. Stepping away from his previous style, Ren has adopted an expressionist and abstract way of painting his recent works and hopes to enlighten the viewers through this intriguing energy.
Born in 1967 in Hebei, Ren Sihong found his talent in painting when he was young, and therefore enrolled in Oil Painting Department in Hebei Normal University and later on continued his study in Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. After graduation, he became one of the residential artists at the Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan), the earliest artist village in China’s modern history (1989 – 1995), representing the most avant-garde and experimental spirits at that time. As Yuan Ming Yuan was removed, the artists had to find new places to establish their studios, various art villages and districts, such as Song Zhuang and 798 have been developed across the city of Beijing, and in 2006, Ren Sihong moved into No.1 International Art District. Like many artists who were born in the ‘60s, Ren experienced social movements that held collectivism and socialism at heart, therefore he tended to express his experiences and memories with a humorous, grotesque, and sarcastic approach. His oil paintings were selected for the 3rd Annual Exhibition of Chinese Oil Painting in 1995, and his work of sculptures were shown at ‘Voice of the Unseen’ exhibition at Venice Biennale in 2013.
Ren Sihong’s creative practices are continuously evolving. Every time he starts a new series, he has the urge to let go of what he used before and fight against old habits in order to create something different. The year of 2017 was a turning point for the artist, as his father passed away. Due to the great loss of his beloved father, Ren lost interest in shapes and colors, he dived into black and white as well as a “formless” way to paint. For him, it is as if walking through time, and resonating with the ups and downs. He is fascinated by the ‘void’ in black and white, believing that valuing simplicity can achieve more. Gradually he has healed himself through painting and has become stronger than ever.
“In 2017, my soul lost its shines, just like the love that all beings have always had is gone. I’m all alone, but I don’t want to be lonely…I walked towards the universe, towards formlessness, and saw how time operated, as well as the new time and space and the light that is set to come. My soul is led by instinct, I see more clearly with my heart, understand my nature, and fulfill my wishes. Without the Degenerate Age, there is no future.”
– Ren Sihong
