Xingtian (Group Dancing), 2008

Laser cut paper

34.625 x 22.875 in. (88 x 58 cm)

Framed dimensions: 36.25 x 24.5 x 1.5 in. (92.1 x 62.2 x 3.8 cm)

Unique

Wu Jian'an
(b. 1980 in Beijing, China. Lives and works in Beijing, China.)

Wu Jian'an uses paper to create ambitious and complex collage-based works that often take the form of large installations. The range of references in his compositions embrace a global lexicon of mythological, art historical, and contemporary references that span from ancient Chinese paper techniques, to abstract expressionism, to Matisse's late cut-out collages. Untitled, 2008 is from the artist's Xingtian series, inspired by the eponymous Chinese hero from antiquity. This warrior, depicted in various stances of might in this collection of intricate paper cutouts, was fierce, passionate, and brave-never losing his sense of purpose. Wu equates this mythic figure to the courageousness hidden in us all which rises to the fore amidst the cacophony and complexities of contemporary life.

Wu has been the subject of numerous international solo and group exhibitions at institutions including: Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo (2023); State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (2021); MoCA , Shanghai (2020); China Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice (2017); and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2015), among others. His work has been collected by public institutions including: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithica; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Art, Boston; Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Brazil; Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan; Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, Beijing; CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, and others. Wu currently serves as Associate Professor of the School of Experimental Art, Central Academy of Fine Art, in Beijing, China.