Liang Weizhou

signed in Pinyin and dated 1995; signed in Pinyin and dated 1995.8 on the reverse

Caves Art Center, Shanghai

China, Shanghai, Shanghai Art Museum, Solo Exhibition of Liang Weizhou, 1996, p.12
China, Caves Art Center Shanghai, Facing the Reflection - Liang Weizhou's paintings 1980-2001, 2008; Taiwan, Caves Art Center Taipei, 2008, p. 133

This work is generally in good condition. There are minor paint losses on the edges. Please note that it was not examined under ultraviolet light.
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Facing the Reflection Series – Train of Thoughts
Liang Weizhou

Born in 1962 in Shanghai, Liang Weizhou belongs to a key generation of artists who was directly affected by the Cultural Revolution and the subsequent political and economic reform in contemporary China in early 1990s. In parallel, he was also exposed to the development of Chinese contemporary art in the latter half of 20th century, from 85’ New- Wave to the emergence of Political Pop and Cynical Realism. However, unlike his peers such as Yue Minjun and Fang Lijun, Liang has clearly refrained from popular political reference in his works. Instead, for over two decades, the artist continues to challenge the boundaries and explore the unlimited possibilities on the artistic language and themes within his own practice. Facing the Reflection series is considered to be the most significant and personal body of works that first gained Liang wide acclaim abroad. Its figurative composition and expressive brushstrokes have also placed the artist as an early representative of New Generation Art movement, along with Liu Xiaodong and Li Songsong. First conceived in 1991 and spanning a decade, Facing the Reflection series not only presents a bold departure from Liang’s previous figurative ink drawings, but also first features the artist himself as the main protagonist using the mirror motif. The two lots on offer from 1995, Undressing Man and Train of Thought, are exceptional pieces from the series that perfectly display an experimental aesthetics transition within Liang’s early oeuvre and highlight him as one of the most important expressionist painters in Chinese contemporary art in 1990s.

Since his childhood, Liang was influenced by his father, an amateur artist, and developed a genuine interest in art. This passion would follow him to his early school days. “I’m not good at mathematics, physics, chemistry or English. I just love drawing. During my last year of high school, I did not even go to school that much, just spending all day sketching on the street. I chose to draw because I truly like it.”¹ His training also began at an early age, which included professional sketching lesson at the age of 14, and studying Chinese painting six years later. During the Cultural Revolution, Liang experienced several crucial turning points in his life that would set course to his later career, from dropping out of high school, and later working as a farmer and welder, to entering the East China Normal University at the age of 23 and teaching at the same university ever since. According to the artist himself, these personal experiences indeed have formed an important part of his creative outlet.

Numerous critics have cited the questioning of one’s identity and individualism within the modern Chinese society in early 1990s as the main inspiration behind the Facing the Reflection series. According to writer Jiang Mei, “Every work is in fact revealing the different scenes inside one’s manipulated and twisted state of mind caused by modern city life.”² Undressing Man (Lot 725), exhibited at Liang Weizhou’s major solo exhibition in 1996 at Shanghai Art Museum in China, is a representative work that testifies to Jiang’s statement. In the painting, two men on each side of the canvas are seen standing in front of a mirror with their faces turning towards each other; while the faceless figure on the left has the back of his nude body shown, the man in suit on the right stands in direct contrast, confronting viewer with a full frontal posture. Their gazes are guided by two opaque yellow lines that converge into the central masked figure. The mask can be considered to be one of the most powerful emblems used by Liang. “The mask itself contains the paradoxical notion of a split personality. It is an object with historical and religious connotations, often associated with fending off evil and sins, yet it also embeds with the quality of pretense, spying, and disguise.”³

On another hand, the abstract mirrored effect, along with the strategic placement and interaction of the three main figures, skillfully reveal Liang’s exploration in the intertwining motifs of voyeurism, masculinity, and most importantly, self. As what the artist has constantly asked, “Within the imaginary world inside the mirror and the world outside, which one of the ‘me’ is more real?”⁴ In regards to the mirror’s relevance with the social situation in China in 1990s, Liang has explained, “Old ways of living and values collapsed. It is the time of the commercial age and there are distant relationships between people, which make everyone depressed. Mirror, as a good tool and symbol of oneself, can reflect what are the ideas and insecurities of the figures are in my work.”⁵ The dual perspective marked by the vertical black stroke in the center of the canvas is also a distinctive compositional element that further defines the artistic style of Liang’s works in the 1990s. It should be noted that Liang removed the original signature in yellow during the 2000s, after which he re-signed on the lower right corner in black as seen in the present work.

Produced in the same year, Train of Thoughts (Lot 726) presents a drastically different colour tone that bears similar mood to Liang’s later photographic works after the 2000s, reflecting the inherent versatile nature of the series itself. The title, along with the scattered composition of two men on two sides of the canvas breaking away from any possible interaction, illustrates the change in Liang’s emotional state during the latter period of the series. Instead of the mask, the chair, another reoccurring symbol used by Liang, has also taken precedence in the composition of the piece. At the same time, the work brilliantly retains original elements such as the two slanted lines on the top part of the canvas, the rough brushwork, and the dual perspective marked by the two shades of gray in the background; successfully bridging its linearity with the origin of the series.

Both Undressing Man and Train of Thought from the Facing the Reflection series perfectly express the issues of self-doubt and individual survival that occupied much of the social mentality in the Chinese contemporary art scene throughout the early 1990s. At the same time, they also serve as an indisputable part of Liang’s everexpanding oeuvre, documenting the artist’s ten-year plus exploration in figurative painting. If looked upon closely, this lineage of self-reflection magnified in the Facing the Reflection series certainly lingers on to his more recent photographic works such as Post-Jiangnan, as what the artist has persistently stated, “My art is completely personal. I only care about myself and surroundings. The figures in my work are always isolated from society. My works are delusions, reflections as well as stories.”⁶

1 Wu Chenrong, “Interview with Liang Weizhou”, Facing the Reflection- Liang Weizhou’s Paintings 1980 -2001, Caves Art Center, 2008

2 Jiang Mei, “Views of Life: Commentary on Liang Weizhou’s Painting”, Facing the Reflection- Liang Weizhou’s Paintings 1980 -2001, Caves Art Center, 2008

3 Li Xu, “A Man in the Mirror”, Facing the Reflection- Liang Weizhou’s Paintings1980 -2001, Caves Art Center, 2008

4 Tan Genxiong, “The Incredible Men’s World”, Facing the Reflection- Liang Weizhou’s Paintings1980 -2001, Caves Art Center, 2008

5 “Interview with Didier Hirsch”, ArtZineChina.com, 2008

6 Refer to 5