Theater剧场 The Theater series is inspired by Robert Wilson's theatre '[Theatre] is an architectural construction in time and space.' LU Song superimposes and combines images in an architectural structure,...
The Theater series is inspired by Robert Wilson's theatre "[Theatre] is an architectural construction in time and space." LU Song superimposes and combines images in an architectural structure, moving between the figurative and the abstract. Plants, figures, geometric forms, and spaces are interlaced and juxtaposed; the work explores the uncertainty of image production, searching for and feeling the strange pleasure of visual fragments and conveying a complex sensory experience in deconstructing and reconstructing images. Among them are landscape and expression, two layers of unrelated images that produce a peculiar visual experience through superimposition, like adding an indication to a landscape or using landscape as an adjective to modify a face.
One of LU Song's creative focuses is painting technique research and experimentation. We are made aware of his paintings' conceptual quality by the Theater series. LU Song recruited filmmakers, actors, models, choreographers, dancers, musicians, and other creatives to collaborate on the series, which began as a cross-border project in 2021. His initial goal was to use group production and improvisation to foster connections between individuals in various fields. LU Song retains the right to decide which portions of the image to remain, even if he does not use paints or take part in the actual painting process. He modifies the contributors' styles by manipulating the image's composition and utilising collage to combine the graffiti of two or three people to create a single, cohesive image. Since then, LU Song has also started to employ this method of image association in his studio works; the only difference is that he produces a new "theater" by fusing images that he generates at various points in time to create a single image.
There is a fractured visual language in this series. This disarray is evident in both the way the text is presented and how the photos are organised. Together, the fragments create a rich and varied visual tale, with each fragment having its own distinct style and significance. His recognition of difference is reflected in the first method to cross-border cooperation, where each participant's distinct perspective and area of interest are made clear, and the result is a picture with layers and rich expressiveness. The disjointed visual language represents the multiplicity and intricacy of postmodern civilization, where many viewpoints, cultures, and values are continuously blending and clashing. The lack of a distinct main subject or sequential storyline in the photos allows for a multitude of interpretations and inspires viewers to use their imagination and own interpretation to explore the rich visual experience.
One of LU Song's creative focuses is painting technique research and experimentation. We are made aware of his paintings' conceptual quality by the Theater series. LU Song recruited filmmakers, actors, models, choreographers, dancers, musicians, and other creatives to collaborate on the series, which began as a cross-border project in 2021. His initial goal was to use group production and improvisation to foster connections between individuals in various fields. LU Song retains the right to decide which portions of the image to remain, even if he does not use paints or take part in the actual painting process. He modifies the contributors' styles by manipulating the image's composition and utilising collage to combine the graffiti of two or three people to create a single, cohesive image. Since then, LU Song has also started to employ this method of image association in his studio works; the only difference is that he produces a new "theater" by fusing images that he generates at various points in time to create a single image.
There is a fractured visual language in this series. This disarray is evident in both the way the text is presented and how the photos are organised. Together, the fragments create a rich and varied visual tale, with each fragment having its own distinct style and significance. His recognition of difference is reflected in the first method to cross-border cooperation, where each participant's distinct perspective and area of interest are made clear, and the result is a picture with layers and rich expressiveness. The disjointed visual language represents the multiplicity and intricacy of postmodern civilization, where many viewpoints, cultures, and values are continuously blending and clashing. The lack of a distinct main subject or sequential storyline in the photos allows for a multitude of interpretations and inspires viewers to use their imagination and own interpretation to explore the rich visual experience.
LU Song (b. 1982) received M.A. in painting from Wimbledon College of Art, University of London in 2006. He returned to China in the following year, currently working and living in Beijing. The artist is enthusiastic about adding his own literary sensibilities and montage-like textures in his painting, reflecting the perception of light in the massive coloration of great somberness, embodied with the confrontation against narrative and the obsession with autobiographical memory.
His recent solo exhibitions include "Japanese Garden" (Don Gallery, Shanghai, 2021), "PURPLE SKIN" (Massimo De Carlo, Hong Kong, 2021), "Interni Romani/Roman Interiors" (Mattatoio, Roma, 2018), "Combe" (Massimo De Carlo, Hong Kong, 2018), "The Room Upstairs" (Massimo De Carlo, London, 2018), "Flow" (OCAT Xi’an, Xi’an, 2017), "Control Point" (Don Gallery, Shanghai, 2017), "The Drunken Beggar on Horseback" (Galeria Nicodim, Bucharest, Romania, 2015), "Hills Beyond the Backdrop" (Alexandre Ochs Galleries, Berlin, 2014), "To the River till Sunrise" (Dominik Mersch Gallery, Waterloo/Sydney, Australia, 2013), "To One Who Has Been Long in City Pent" (Alexandre Ochs Galleries, Berlin, 2012). He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions such as “Un dialogue avec la sensibilité — Écriture, Désir, Amour” (Being Art Museum, Shanghai, 2022), “Swallow it!” (Don Gallery, Shanghai, 2019), "Painting as Strait Gate: Post-80s Artists Invitation Exhibition" (Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2016) and "In Memory of a Landscape 2" (James Cohen Gallery, Shanghai, 2015), amongst others.
近期个展包括“日本花园” (东画廊,上海,2021)、“紫皮”(MDC香港画廊,香港,2021)、“罗马内室”(Mattatoio,罗马,2018)、“谿谷”(Massimo De Carlo,香港,2018)、“楼上的房间”(Massimo De Carlo,伦敦,2018)、“流”(OCAT西安馆,西安,2017)、“控制点”(东画廊,上海,2017)、“马背上的醉乞丐”(Galeria Nicodim,罗马尼亚布加勒斯特,2015)、“Hills Beyond the Backdrop”(Alexandre Ochs Galleries,柏林,2014)、“To the River till Sunrise”(Dominik Mersch Gallery,滑铁卢/悉尼,2013)、“To One Who Has Been Long in City Pent”(Alexandre Ochs Galleries,柏林,2012),参与群展包括“感谢对话”(碧云美术馆,上海,2022)、“咽夏”(东画廊,上海,2019)、 “作为窄门的绘画:80后艺术家邀请展”(蜂巢当代艺术中心,北京,2016)、“怀景之二”(科恩画廊,上海,2015)等。