Hua
Nian
Silent
Night
18"
x 18"
acrylic on canvas
Enter
Gallery of Where the Wild Things Glow
(Part
1)
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In June 2008, my family and I took a trip to Bali with a group of U
of I music students and faculty. We arrived at the hotel after midnight,
directly from the airport. I will never forget the delightful moment
as I opened the door in the early morning — everywhere my eyes
met lush greens in every possible size, shapes and shades; among them,
unknown flowers stretching their bright colors with robust energy; close
by, mirror-like rice fields reflecting the pinkish glow of the sky -
everything was imbued in such a beauty of quietness… The sudden
appearance of this exotic scene made me wonder if I had accidentally
jumped into a teleportation device (like the one in Star Trek)…
I believe the seed of this series was planted back then.
Almost 20 years ago, I came to the United States in a hope to learn
how to paint landscapes and flowers like the classic masters, but then
I fell in love with abstract painting – eagerly and painstakingly
exploiting the freedom of its self-expression, my early paintings dealt
with fear, confusion, anxiety; restless and groundless feelings toward
this tumultuous, open-ended and unpredictable world. Painting flowers
became the last thing I would want to do…
However, this way of thinking about life has gradually yet profoundly
changed since I became part of a loving family, and especially after
the birth of my two children - quiet like growing roots, a sense of
appreciation and optimism has gripped the soil of reality. Reviewing
my paintings over the past years, each one of them seemed to step out
from the shadow of the previous one—lines running to meet each
other, forming stories instead of passing through each other and rushing
out of the picture frames; colors getting brighter and warmer; instead
of mindlessly roaming nowhere, dots would bounce with joy and energy;
some of them started to root into the ground …
This new series is all about wild flowers in their flourishing state.
Instead of painting them from still life, I had to let each one grow
organically from the soil of my mind, onto the almost arbitrarily painted
background. In vases, and mostly outdoors in the unknown wild—these
flowers are self-sufficient and glowing within, emitting their beauty
in such tranquility— just like those I remember in Bali...
-Hua
Nian
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