Ethereal Machines
2019
Acrylic on aeronautical fabric, tables
Dimensions variable
Peripheral Ritual I, II, III consists of 3 paintings made individually but presented as a triptych. As in the other paintings on aeronautical fabric, paint is thinned and allowed to flow, diffuse and spread without direct contact of the brush. The result is a porous, translucent surface marked by a variety of stains and marks that come across as coincidental but are in fact carefully constructed through a process that resembles a piece of choreography. By applying various bodily gestures — shifting, tilting and turning — fragments are played against one another without complete resolution, allowing an open work to take shape. These paintings act like mirrors, reflecting and echoing each other but also deviating through repetition.
Peripheral Ritual was first shown alongside other works as part of the two person exhibition Ethereal Machines: Guo-Liang Tan & Zang Kunkun presented by Mai 36 Galerie and Ota Fine Arts Shanghai.
