Wang Guangle

A pioneer of conceptual and abstract painting in China, Wang is known for his process-based works that he builds up layer-by-layer over the course of days and months. He sees the act of painting as a spiritual practice; creating mesmeric color gradations and textures in systematic layers of acrylic paint, he uses repetition as a means of expressing persistence and transcendence through time.

Delayed Gravity, the title of his upcoming show in New York, speaks to the durational processes and devotional labors that define his practice. It will bring together ten new compositions, almost all of which are large in scale. These works are part of his new series Untitled 2, a continuation of the Untitled series, which he began in 2007. While the compositions in the Untitled works were built up in layers towards the center of the canvas, laid flat on the floor, his Untitled 2 paintings are produced with the canvas propped up vertically, responding to the limits and possibilities of the conditions of his new studio. With this body of work—which can be understood in relation and opposition to enactments of fading—the artist layers disparate colors from the top of the composition down, producing illusionistic effects in depth and perspective. This process further exaggerates the downward fade of his horizontal bands of pigment and exposes the canvas’s edge. His finished compositions give the impression of simultaneously receding into and protruding from the walls on which theyhang.

Rife with visual contradictions, Wang’s new works take on a distinctly sculptural quality. These engrossing, almost hypnotic paintings draw viewers into their monumental surfaces and seemingly illimitable depths. In this way, the artist invites us into his ineffable, contemplative, and liminal world of color and space.

In addition to the paintings in the exhibition, Wang will also present a new sculptural installation, titled One Layer a Day, on the gallery’s second-floor outdoor terrace. With this participatory work, colorful pigments will be added to a body of water contained in a silicone mold. Overnight, after a new color is added, the water will freeze, producing a vibrant slab of ice. The artist will stack each of the slabs throughout the run of the show, creating an installation that reflects his enduring interest in ephemeral, performative, architectural, and community-minded works of art.