Jiang Guo-Xiang was born in 1935 and is the founder of the school of Chinese Modern Zen oil painting and the theory of “Non-objectivity” painting. Master Xiang graduated from the stagecraft department of the Central Drama College in 1958 and was sent as an art designer to the modern drama troupe in Wuhan. When the Cultural Revolution was under way in 1966, master Xiang was viewed as an enemy and persecuted due to his love for Western art. He was sent to a machine tool plant in the countryside, where he spent a decade along with other “intelligencia”.        

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During the 1980s, master Xiang was released from his plant duties and worked at Guandong Television station as senior art designer and, eventually, chief of design until his retirement. He secluded himself in the countryside to pursue his destined dream to be a plastic artist, where he immersed himself in the study of Zen Buddhism for inspiration.

Master Xiang’s works are a unique synthesis of Zen and his visions. They attain a rich texture achieved through the concoction of recycled materials and highly aired oils. The calm and tranquility of his works present us a refreshing refuge from our pursuit of materialism and from the instability of modern society. 

 

Most recently, master Xiang’s work was selected by Private Equity International Magazine for their cover page for the June edition. PEI is a globally distributed magazine that reaches over 20,000 firms with the most powerful investment managers in the financial world.