A New World of Beauty - The Establishing of Gao XiaoWu’s Sculptural Arts

Chen,Kuang-Yi Professor of Fine Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts

Born in a quaint village in the province of Fujian, the Chinese artist, Gao XiaoWu emerged himself from the Sculpture Department at Xiamen Academy of Arts & Design in 1999 - it was the time after “85 Art Movement” which revolutionized contemporary art in China in the 80’s, during the rise of diversification of contemporary artists in the 90’s, and right before the injection of capital from all over the world in the 21st century. Coming from Xiamen, the birth-place of the 80’s avant-garde movement, “Xiamen Dada”, Gao was a young artist who marries Art for life and was determined to move to Beijing in pursuit of the dream of an artist. After the relocation, Gao did not limit himself to the locality, instead, he rode the early wave of globalization, traveled the world and furthered himself as a sculptor. His techniques and artistry soon put him on the pedestal among art collectors and aficionados alike. His work is exhibited in major cities around China; his sculptures are erected in streets, featured as the centerpiece, and showcased at galleries and museums in art capitals across continents.
In the span of 20 years as an accomplished artist, Gao XiaoWu’s creativity has prospered in diverse spectrums. Each of his collections has its own motif that branches out in its own lineage but develops concurrently with one another. The year 2010 demarcates Gao’s earlier collections such as the 2004’s masterpiece, “Standard Age” from the more recent ones like “Rebirth”. His early work focused on representational figures - from “Standard Age” depicting, ingratiating white-collar workers smiling and bowing; “City Dreams”, featuring rounded “angels” with proportionally undersized wings; “Our Generation”, showing young adults with exaggerated hand gestures - each one of them is the work of a smooth sculpture with a luminous surface that is either paints on bronze or polished stainless steel, and equipped with its unique humor. However, these figures may be the products of satire and dark comedy that are derailed from high-end arts - deceitfully sway the perpetual aristocracy of sculptures but are nothing of the authoritative aesthetics. To paraphrase the words of Clement Greenberg’s: due to the use of images and texts in advertising, comic books and cultural objects is commercialized, such event is an infidelity with Kitsch and a betrayal to the avant-garde. The phenomenon appeared after World War II in the Western world where Pop Art and Nouveau réalisme artists drew their inspirations from mundane living and through consumerism. The term, “Pop Art”, firstly used by Lawrence Alloway, describes a conglomerate of the masses, ephemera, debasement, affordability, mass production, youth, novelties, gimmicks and allurements. This kind of appealing but provocative work utterly subverts the institution of arts and aesthetics, and puts professional arts practitioners on chokeholds. Somehow, Pop Art hasn’t become a thing in the past and has withstood the test of time after 6 decades - still practiced by people like Jeff Koons who produces work in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. His Balloon Dog is nothing short of mediocrity; Damien Hirst’s diamond skull serves as an arrant head scratcher; Paul McCarthy’s gigantic installation is blatantly vulgar and indigestible but yet, still in high demand in the art market despite the scandal. Artists in China were exposed to such Western Pop Art in the 80’s and have endured global political changes in the 90’s - Pop Art has the inevitable becoming of contemporary art. How should we scope Gao XiaoWu’s work in this climate? Is he part of the trend? Or should we label him as a Post-Pop Art sculptor?

Taking a closer look at Gao XiaoWu’s work - even though the mentioned characteristics of pop culture are practiced, they do not quite paint the whole picture of who this sculptor is, either. Gao’s oeuvre conveys the adaptation of changes from living a village life to the scene of a big city. It has made impacts on him and even put him in a disadvantage but his works remain a self-referential humor rather than harsh criticism. In his post-2010 collection, “Soft Violence”, sculptures become abstractive - an organic configuration of red and silver substance pouring like mud or lava from 6-meter high, crushing the soul beneath; fluid oozing from the hole of an installation on the wall - characters are no longer the emphasis in this collection, objects are, vehicles, especially. From the naming of the individual artwork to the narrating of it, Gao’s work connotes the criticism of the modern lifestyle and he chose to respond to such depressing subject with a contradictory humor. The collection, “Discrepancy”, commenced in 2011, further expresses Gao’s desire to not only point out issues but also put forth possible answers. Described as “topsy-turvy with non-stop spinning” and answered by an “easy-breezy of a monk in Samadhi” sitting on top, this collection is infused with contradictions and discrepant representations of engagement/withdrawal, material/spirit and action/inaction. In addition to another 2010 collection, “Pet God”, featured dragons, lions and other religious mythical creatures and animals, Gao forthright introduced popular culture and the figurine phenomenon in consumerism into the work, actively teased the “pet culture” in our society. The sculpture, “Pet-God Dog”, portrays a personified canine humbly bowing as if it’s human - a depicted reminder of cautionary tales such as “Unofficial History of the Scholars” and “Officialdom Unmasked” in Qing dynasty. Such explicit satire certainly makes an impression. Finally, moving onto the latest and the present collection, “Rebirth”, Gao transcended his work by retiring the sarcastic tone - despite the continuous use of animals as the objects, the subject and the issue have been changed nonetheless. The previously grotesque animals are now shown with picturesque vividness. The swimming fish, frogs and tortoises, the running lions and deer, and the flying butterflies and dragonflies are in elegant forms with colors and vibrancy. Sections and parts of these sculptures are transformed into other organic shapes or a reminiscence of botanical branches – like the poem, ‘Les métamorphoses’ by the great Ovide, the metamorphosis of plants and animals transmutes them into “new species” that preserve the quirks and characters prior to and after the change. Our lives also go through such metamorphosis that turns us into “new species”, and in the process, we are to escape the reality and enter the surreal imaginative world. According to the words of Gao XiaoWu, “the exploration of arts leads to the finding of beauties in life”.

Through tracing the steps of his creation process, this is the conclusion that leads to: Gao XiaoWu is unlike other Pop Art artists whose attitude remains ambiguous and snide towards issues of our modern society - they often indirectly and strategically use imageries and symbols in a distant and deadpan manner. On the contrary, Gao surely imbues his work with depths and a hint of optimism. His sculptures, originally influenced by his life experience, gradually unburden themselves from the disheartenment of the reality and dauntlessly immerse in emotions and imagination. Gao has created a world of harmony through his art.