HAO Liang was born in Chengdu, China, (1983) and lives and works in Beijing. His first exposure to art came at an early age through his godmother’s father, a noted collector of Chinese art who studied under Zhang Daqian, perhaps the most prominent Chinese artist of the twentieth century. (Zhang, a master of guohua painting, died in 1983—the year of Hao’s birth.) Hao enrolled at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, in 2002, majoring in Chinese painting, and graduated with a master’s degree from there in 2009. He considered becoming a teacher, but at the encouragement of fellow artist Xu Lei, decided to pursue painting.

In his intricately painted silk landscapes and portraits, Hao Liang filters the techniques, themes, motifs, and conventions of traditional Chinese guohua ink wash painting through a contemporary, cosmopolitan sensibility. He weaves together such outwardly divergent influences as classical poetry, modern literature, film theory, and modern art. Much of Hao’s work is concerned with perspectives on temporality, a theme that has historically been approached quite differently by Chinese and Western artists; where traditional Chinese artists tend to represent time as mutable and ambiguous, Hao aims to locate its unique complexity in the present moment. Crucially, he positions image making as not only an exercise in technical skill and art historical knowledge, but also a reflection of lived experience.

About the work: 

Ancient calendars, rooted in solar observations, were predicated on the notion that time underpinned agricultural and labor practices and vital rituals. This led to a profound understanding of time, asserting that managing time equates to maintaining flexibility. This intricate context is a frequent exploration for the Hao Liang. The portrayal of time in numerous ancient literati paintings elicits philosophical contemplation and tension predicated on this divergence in the cognizance of time. Portrait after He Went There is a newly commissioned work for the exhibition. It endeavors to capture the spirit of the Chinese merchant of the exhibition. Through a poetic portrait, Hao Liang gave shape to a fictional figure central to the show's narrative.