A Dialogue Between Apsara and Angel

MA Graduate artwork. Golden Award of Chinese Painting department at China Academy of Fine Art, graduate exhibition 2015. It was the first time in history that foreign student was awarded Gold at this most prestigious department.

Painting in various ways merges together East and West. Suspended underneath the Heavens, Buddhist Apsara and Christian Angel are conducting a dearest, wordless dialogue. 
Gigantic size, composition and perspective of the artwork refers to Western plafond paintings, Eastern buddhist cave art and Thang-ga (唐卡). Perspective leads viewer’s eye to the centre of painting, a golden circle representing divinity and faith. According to the Eastern painting tradition, artwork is mostly linear. However, rich and pure colours are of a Western art. Although worked with female models, character of the Apsara is strongly based on conceptualized images from Kizil grottoes in Xinjiang, China, while Angel is more an imaginative realistic figure of a androgynous features.
Christian tradition is represented by St. Peter’s Basilica with the colonnade, Prague’s cathedral (as well Cologne cathedral’ s features) and old church in Kroscienko nad Dunajcem (my hometown).
Buddhist tradition is depicted by famous ancient religious art sites in China – Dunhuang, Kizil, Longmen Grottoes, Datong Hanging Temple.
Skies and clouds, initally different from each other, eventually merge into one.

Different worlds, cultures, religions, etc. seem to differ greatly, but all have the same foundation. Thus, we are always able to communicate, find a common language and reach harmony with the Other.

Chinese painting paper, gold, bronze, Xinjiang’s Kizil soil, mineral pigments. 3.6 × 3m, May 2015.

作品结合中西方的艺术体系。悬浮于天下的飞天和天使进行充满博爱的对话，表示在不同的世界之间可以找到共同语言。画面布局透视和颜色搭配联想到西方教堂圆顶壁画。线条及画法突显中国绘画元素。 左边代表基督教文化：梵蒂冈圣彼得大教堂，布拉格/科隆教堂，作者老家的教堂。右边代表佛教文化：敦煌莫高窟，新疆克孜尔石窟，龙门石窟，大同悬空古寺。不同的背景逐渐融合，最终成为代表信仰的金光。黄金是西方和东方对神圣的共同表现方式。
360 × 300 cm, 纸本，金，铜，新疆克孜尔泥土，矿物颜料。