Imagine the mind tuned down to a dormant state, degree zero; then the world would look so clear, so vivid. It would be like having taste buds so sensitive that even a glass of water would taste sharp. Start from the beginning, annihilate the worldly self: then the original self will become truly sensitive.

When I paint I do not think of structure or theme; what I seek is a certain ‘flavour’ – a rhythm of spirit and energy, so that the soul drifts in the painting, like a shadow of the mind. Everything is flat and calm.

—— Qiu Shihua

Hanart TZ Gallery is honoured to present celebrated painter Qiu Shihua’s latest solo exhibition, Dawn Light. The opening reception will take place on Friday, 31 August 2018, from 6-8pm, at Hanart TZ Gallery.

One enters Qiu Shihua’s paintings as if slipping into the morning mist. Whiteness dominates, shifting in a variety of shades. By pushing the contrast of form and colour to an absolute minimum, even to the point where it can hardly be differentiated, Qiu has changed the act of viewing from an active solicitation to an alert envisioning. Yet, because his faintly painted landscapes cannot be discerned at a glance, it is necessary first to relax the mind before the image in the painting slowly floats into view: in this way a meditative state becomes the prerequisite condition for viewing the work. Gradually the eyes make out the view: the vague fold of trees, and fainter woods afar. Eventually one seems to see, or sense, every detail, down to the play of light on the tufts of grassy fodder. In many of Qiu’s paintings the qualities of breath-rhythm (qiyun) and inner vitality (lingdong) are palpable. They give the impression of entering the world at a moment of fullness when its mysteries are about to be revealed: light at daybreak, first darkness at dusk, or the moment when sound breaks the fullness of silence.

—— Chang Tsong-Zung