PENG JIAN Peng Jian depicts the books which are at the centre of our theme – what does art communicate about literature when the one depicts the other? Peng Jian’s...
PENG JIAN Peng Jian depicts the books which are at the centre of our theme – what does art communicate about literature when the one depicts the other? Peng Jian’s paintings are bold in colour, and angular in line, channelling the force and tools of the ancient Chinese architectural discipline of jiehua. They reside in the fulcrum where contemporary expressiveness and traditional dexterity collide. The paintings are open to manifold interpretations: books here becomes not necessarily repositories of information and content, but a visual embodiment of the ordered grid with bold colours in unexpected combinations, controlled and yet somehow unpredictable. Wear and tear on the books may reflect the randomness that creeps into ordered settings, and also how age and experience augment the role of theoretical learning. In the artist’s words: "I define different objects in a limited space. I do so not just to depict a specific image, but by harnessing symbolism, I wish to express the hidden, profound meaning." Peng Jian was born in Yueyang, Hunan Province in 1982. He graduated with a MFA from China Academy of Art at Hangzhou in 2013, where he still works and lives, with his wife, artist Pan Wenxun, and their young son.