An exhibition comprising exquisite oil paintings which continue the artist’s contemplation of, and quite possibly reverence for, the simple nobility of the Mongolian peasant.

Returning to her utilization of the compositional devices of Renaissance portraiture, Xue presents us with a rendering of her immediate impressions of the landscape of Inner Mongolia, in particular, the fieldworkers. Many of the serene faces are backed by gentle, Renaissance-like landscapes with low rolling hills and infinite blue skies. Using thinly-mixed paints, even-handed brushwork and an economy of detail, Xue Mo exquisitely reveals the beauty of soft skin and the textures of ‘fine’ clothing.

Xue’s paintings evoke a timeless elegance, a return to ‘pure’ painting, and by turn, a contemporary interpretation of formalism. Whilst lending themselves to a meditative contemplation that transcends age and culture, these paintings have a timely appeal as well. “China Renaissance II” as title to the exhibition, reflects the artist’s interpretation of contemporary China’s rapidly increasing global interaction with Western countries and their cultures, as much as historically, the development of international trade and the notion of the ‘individual’ developed during the Renaissance.

Location

Catherine Asquith Gallery, Ground Floor, 130 Flinders Street, Melbourne.