![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.matthewlangley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/songsong_image.jpg?resize=500%2C507\")
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There are some things that I\u2019m not the greatest at \u2013 one of which is my knowledge of the Chinese art world. It seems that everyone talks about Ai Weiwei and maybe Zhang Huan \u2013 but for the most part- at least for me, I see a lot of those artists as master of the spectacle (with amazing technical chops) but at the end of the day a lot of these artists tend to leave me cold.<\/p>\n
Li Songsong\u2019s show at pace right now is a display of painting unlike you\u2019ve seen in a very long time.<\/p>\n
Like any good painter the description of what he does is easy \u2013 it\u2019s in the details of how that make these stand out. In a nutshell Songsong paints multicolored grids of paint on canvas and aluminum, which integrate photographs of recent Chinese history and current events into abstraction. When I talk about paint \u2013 I am talking about a physicality that is unlike many other painters. Maybe the closet painter I can compare his physicality to is maybe – Guy Goodwin\u2019s painting of the mid seventies. Realize that I\u2019m trying to set up the paint of these paintings as a major force of the work \u2013 easily in places the paint is at least 1 \u00bd inches thick in places. However it\u2019s neither clumsy nor overly gentle. It is applied in a direct and intelligent approach.<\/p>\n
Songsong\u2019s images are taken from Chinese genre scenes or elements from recent news events \u2013 and while this adds an element if interest to the images, I feel that at the end of the day the imagery is barely necessary. As the viewers experience of the work will bring a more personal association and meaning to the artworks.<\/p>\n
Highly recommended, Li Songsong will run through Aug 5.<\/p>\n
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Detail of Songsong’s paintwork.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are some things that I\u2019m not the greatest at \u2013 one of which is my knowledge of the Chinese art world. It seems that everyone talks about Ai Weiwei and maybe Zhang Huan \u2013 but for the most part- at least for me, I see a lot of those artists as master of the spectacle (with amazing technical chops) but at the end of the day a lot of these artists tend to leave me cold. Li Songsong\u2019s show at pace right now is a display of painting unlike you\u2019ve seen in a very long time. Like any good…<\/p>\n