Jacky Tsai solo exhibition opens in London
- By Rory Howard
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 18, 2015
Master of combining traditional Chinese techniques with pop art, Jacky Tsai shows that old artistic crafts such as cloisonné, lacquer wood carving, and su-xiu silk die hard when they confront the contemporary audience.
Tsai's first solo exhibition "Future Past" at the Fine Art Society of London opened last night on September 17, 2015.
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Culture Clash [China.org.cn] |
Tsai, who is well known for his decorated skulls revealed new works in a range of medium, as well as introducing a new set of masterly crafted wood-cuttings that thoughtfully bring together heroes from the East and West in his 'Future Past' series.
One of the few remaining specialists in the Chinese art of su-xiu fine embroidery, Tsai's 2015 piece 'Chinese Floral Skull' is one of his most visually beautiful and well crafted yet. Behind the beauty of mountains and peonies in the Chinese style, the viewer meets a deathly face of equal beauty. Tsai mentions in an interview with Fine Art Society's contemporary director Lee Cavaliere that a fear of skulls is what leads him to create them, to confront them. Perhaps with this piece he will put that fear to rest.
Another method in Tsai's repertoire is cloisonné, which he has used to form two skulls that, though not a set, complement each other. 'Cloisonné Skull' and 'Stained Glass Skull' both incorporate a similar range of dark reds, blues, and greens that viewers might not be able to tell one from the other. The eye is in the detail. 'Cloisonné' is meticulously painted in the style of many a Chinese temple, with the swirling patterns of the eaves, and of the serpents' tails.
'Stained Glass Skull' features the rich colours of a church's stained glass windows. By creating two similarly coloured, but very different pieces of work, one might say there is something superficial about outward appearance, and that character is found in the detail.
The boldest and most vivid of the works on display at the Fine Art Society are Tsai's more recent lacquer carvings. A mix of colourings akin to early comic books with characters from popular comic book culture among others, the viewer is invited to inspect the role of western pop culture alongside Chinese traditional characters all done in the style of old school comic books.
Like an introduction to Tsai's works in lacquer carvings, 'Culture Clash' is an apt beginning for the themes that run throughout the artist’s 2015 lacquer carvings. In ebony skies, and from gold leaf swirls of smoke, legendary characters of Chinese literature do battle against western bombers.
In a similar vein, 'Water Margin on the Fifth Avenue', inspired by one of China's four ancient classics, bandits from the titular novel effortlessly battle superheroes with Batman, Spider-man, and Captain America laid under the feet of giants of Chinese history and literature. The comic book like colourings and setting on New York's upper class Fifth Avenue could be an allegory for China's growing wealth.
In the 'Romance at the Hamptons,' characters from Romance of the Three Kingdom's frolic around a pool with the likes of the Joker, Batman, and Robin. A brotherly coming together of wealth in America's much treasured holiday spot for the rich.
Finally, and with the most comedic effect, 'Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber' pokes fun at the Western fascination with Eastern Beauty. Blindfolded and fumbling about in a Chinese rock garden, Superman is trapped in a game of blind man's bluff with female characters from the 18th century classic Dream of the Red Chamber.
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