Liang Fu’s 2023 works capture the ethereal essence of the dream world, bringing it to life on canvas through the use of watercolors and oil.
The Paris-based Chinese artist’s paintings are like apparitions, fleeting and mysterious, leaving the viewer to interpret the shapes and figures that emerge from the colors. Fu’s process begins with a drop of water, which causes the pigment to pervade the thickness of the unprimed canvas, forming the shapes and figures that he then embellishes with oil paint.
What is unique about Fu’s work is the way in which it rewards repeat viewings, the viewer’s understanding of the picture oscillating and remaining elusive. This elusiveness is a result of the blurring of the subjects’ figurative dimension, as well as the mixing of the interior, the exterior, the visible, the invisible, the presence, and the absence of things. It is as if the picture were the one watching, forcing the viewer to continuously adapt to what they see.
Fu’s work is steeped in symbolic associations, with water playing a central role as a conduit between states of awakening and dreaming. Through a play on transparency and opacity, Fu seeks to imbue his subjects with a feeling of light radiating softly from within while keeping them in a state of uncertainty. The result is a series of images that spur the imagination of the viewer into action, generating a sense of ambiguity and strangeness that is both captivating and enigmatic.
Beyond his paintings, Fu’s work with Earth – ceramics, porcelain, enamels – is equally compelling. Water meets fire as he plays the part of the alchemist, manipulating materials such as earth, beeswax, water, and pigments to transmute them through a process of interaction. The result is a series of sculptures that engage with the fragility and sensuality of the materials, weaving links between organic and mineral substances that become the testimony of a process.
Liang Fu’s works are a testament to the power of the imagination and the way in which art can bring the dream world to life. Through a combination of watercolor and oil, he creates images that are elusive and changing, encouraging the viewer to interpret the shapes and figures that emerge from the colors.
