Fable and the Prophet
Inside and Outside the Redline
February 26 - April 17, 2021
Sunzen Art Gallery
MON - FRI 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
SAT 11 AM - 6:00 PM
SUN CLOSED
Curated by Viahsta Yuan
With a fascination toward cosmic myth and supernatural power, Yang Xiaolu’s interests lie in the juxtaposition of eccentric objects that has symbolic meanings with historically or socially significant locations. In this new series, he intuitively places fictional characters or imaginary objects, such as UFOs and Santa Claus, under the harmonious night sky of Zhongnanhai, adding a surrealist and humorous vibe to his representational style.
Zhongnanhai was built in the Ming Dynasty (1406). It had served generations of emperors as the imperial garden and had become the central headquarters and State Council of the Communist Party in 1949. A childhood encounter allowed Yang to briefly observe Zhongnanhai from far away, and that encounter has planted a seed of dialectics that nurtured his artistic creation for many years.
The Chinese-Canadian artist Yang Xiaolu investigates his ambivalent emotion towards his home country, restrictions and centralization, as well as the confrontation of culture between the East and the West. With the laser-like red lines marking visible and invisible boundaries across the landscape, the artist showcases his intimate and complex emotion towards the location, and draws us back to the present and struck us with his manifestation of the current crisis.
策展人：袁霁月
杨晓鲁对神话、哲学和社会历史十分着迷，并善于将蕴含历史或社会意义的景象与古怪且具象征意义的主体并置。在这个新系列中，他直观地将虚构的人或物（如圣诞老人，不明飞行物等）放置在中南海和谐景象的夜空下，为他的表现风格增添了超现实主义和幽默的氛围。
中南海始建于明朝（1406年），它曾是历代皇帝的御用花园，并于1949年成为共产党的中央总部和国务院。童年时期的一次际遇使杨晓鲁对中南海有了一次短暂的遥望，也正是那次际遇，在他心中播下了辩证思维的种子，也滋养了他多年的艺术创作。
加拿大华裔艺术家杨晓鲁通过这一系列的作品，直面他对家乡、界限以及禁锢的矛盾情感，同时引导了对东西方文化象征物的讨论。激光般的红线在画布上划分着可见亦或是不可见的边界，展示了他对这个神秘的地方极其个人化且复杂的情感。这些红线将我们拉回当下，一语道破当前危机下的不安。
YANG XIAOLU
Yang Xiaolu is an artist and art educator from Beijing who currently lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. He obtained a master’s degree in oil painting and a Ph.D. in Art History in the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia. Yang’s works were exhibited internationally and were included in numerous public, private, and corporate collections around the world.
杨晓鲁，艺术家及艺术教育家，目前定居加拿大温哥华。他在俄罗斯圣彼得堡列宾艺术学院获油画硕士学位及艺术史博士学位。其作品曾在国际上展出，并被世界各地众多公共展馆，私人和企业所收藏。
Essays
Under the Curtain of Prophecies - Note from the Curator by VIAHSTA YUAN
An Endless Journey - About Xiaolu’s Fabel and the Prophet, by MOON HYEYOUNG
An Interview with Xiaolu - Fable and the Prophet
Forward, ZHENG SHENGTIAN
Visit
Sunzen Art Gallery, 420 Howe St., Vancouver BC
Mon ~ Fri 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM | Sat 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM