Monday 8 October 2012

Chinese Art at John Moore Painting Prize: Walker Gallery

The Photo-realist art work in the John Moores Painting Prize out of the Chinese art works is incredible. The art work is called Aphasia by Hu Wenlong. When first looking at the art work you straight away think to yourself its obviously a photograph. However only paintings are allowed to be entered into this competition and then you look closer and you discover that the ears do look highly finished but not from lack of artistic skill but because the artist made the nose the most highly finished part of the work so in photography terms is in focus and the further the parts of the face get from the nose the more out of focus it becomes. This work is incredible and reminds me a lot of Chuck Close's Big Self-Portrait, 1968, where he has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. However where Close's photo makes him look relaxed and has an element of cool all over him, Wenlong shows us just him and in the photo you can see him and just him. You can tell theres something going on in his head though. When first saw this painting i found it utterly amazing and best thing i have seen in a long time.

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