黑料不打烊

In Liang Chang Sheng: World of Joyblins, Liang creates fantastical worlds filled with hybrid creatures that he refers to as Joyblins (鈥淗e Le鈥�) who exist in a peaceful, joyful and utopian world where they require no sustenance and are unencumbered by corporeal form. In this way, they can freely transform into any form or shape. In Liang鈥檚 intimate worlds, there exists no hierarchy, conflict, or competition, with infinite time, space and eternal joy.

Liang Chang Sheng uses brush ink to create long scroll line drawings, as well as a myriad of other techniques such as paper cutting, painting, sculpture, and mixed media that feature fantastical figures in a complex narrative that combines folktale, legend, religious iconography and art historical references. Careful examination of the pieces reveal appropriated elements from famous artworks such as Hieronymus Bosch鈥檚 The Garden of Earthly Delights, Duchamp鈥檚 Fountain, Munch鈥檚 Scream, Jan Van Eyck鈥檚 The Arnolfini Marriage; and well-known landmarks including the Egyptian Sphinx and Stonehenge. Thus, his works appeal to audiences of different ages and backgrounds yet in its unusual juxtapositions, they also arouse a feeling of mystery and puzzlement which draws the viewer to investigate the details and deeper meaning behind his works.

Liang鈥檚 work deconstructs and restructures the traditional Chinese cultural context upon which his works are based to present both the familiar and the unfamiliar.

Amidst the whimsy, however, controversy and conflict lurk beneath the surface of his seemingly harmonious images. Just as artist Ai Weiwei subverts traditional values, Liang adopts traditional techniques as an aesthetic tool to reinforce his art. His work references both history and modernity, as it represents 5,000 years of Chinese art history, as well as the current political and social reality in China. And just as Cai Guo Qiang uses gunpowder to create effects similar to ink splash paintings on rice paper, Liang鈥檚 work combines traditional academic training as well as skills common among trade workers. Liang鈥檚 scholarly work might be closer to Xu Bing鈥檚 controversial exhibition, A Book from the Sky, or traditional literati painting. But unlike most contemporary artists, Liang鈥檚 concept is more neutral, as he sedulously hides his subversive aims. He has not explicitly taken any particular political or societal stance, for his artistic world is superficially serene and harmonious. However, Liang鈥檚 unique worlds ultimately become a trenchant reflection of the restrictive Chinese government and its capitalistic aspirations.

About the Artist
Liang  Chang Sheng was born in Beijing in 1967, and raised in Shandong Providence, China. He studied at the Beijing Professional Art School from 1983-86, then continued by majoring in decorative Arts at Peli University. In 1994 he entered the Beijing Central Art Academy, where he continued to develop his style and his skill with various materials.

The Curator
Based in New York, Luchia Meihua Lee is an independent curator who has organized numerous exhibitions, both nationally and internationally, including the Queens Museum, Chelsea Art Museum, Godwin-Ternbach Museum, and Columbia University. She has served as Director and Chief Curator of the Exhibition Department at the National Taiwan Museum of Art, Cultural Specialist at the Council for Cultural Affairs in Taiwan, and Curator at the Chinese Information and Cultural Center, Taipei Gallery, in New York City. Lee鈥檚 exhibitions have received critical acclaim in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, among other publications.