ART-PRESENTATION:Liu Jianhua

Liu Jianhua is one of China’s rising stars in the contemporary art scene, who experiments with comprehensive materials. After graduating from college in 1989, and within a contemporary context, he started his own experimental practices. Liu’s porcelain and mixed media works reflect the economic and social changes in China as well as the problems that follow suit.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Pace Gallery Archive

In Liu Jianhua’s solo exhibition at Pace Gallery are on presentation porcelain sculptures from his series “Trace” (2011), “Square” (2014) and “Blank Paper” (2009-16). The series of works included in this exhibition underscore the artist’s increasingly philosophical approach toward form and abstraction that has characterized his practice over the last decade. Full distillations of form resulted in the “Blank Paper” series, thin sheets of white porcelain hung on the wall, in the process of discovering the sculptures’ true medium, assessments and assumptions are reevaluated and the viewer is able to reconsider the form of objects free from preconceptions of their function. Though the works allow for revelations, they offer the viewer no grand narratives, rather inviting people to make their own impressions. Other highlights of the exhibition include “Trace”, a series of wall-bound black porcelain ink drops, which are inspired by wo lou hen, a calligraphy stroke that can be translated to “traces from a leaking roof”. The sculptures play off of both wo lou hen’s figurative inspiration and calligraphic origins by returning the brushstrokes back to their architectural context, while transforming the walls of the gallery into immense sheets of paper at the artist’s disposal. This transformation is made complete by the lustrous black porcelain Liu expertly employs, in his hands the material appears viscous and weighty, threatening to drip down the walls. “Trace” ultimately led to the final series on view, “Square”, an installation comprised of gold-glazed porcelain pools resting on top of steel sheets, which was most recently shown at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017).

Info: Pace Gallery, 229 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, Duratiom 21/6-4/8/19, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-17:00, Sat 11:00-17:00, www.pacegallery.com