2011

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10+ Architect Space, Hong Kong, 2011

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E (merge): two spiritualities, China Art Projects / Niagara Galleries @ Space Station Gallery, Beijing China 25 June – 7 July 2011

Artists: Angelina Pwerle; Hu Qinwu

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Two painters – one a Chinese male, the other an Indigenous Australian female. The painting styles and technical processes are superficially similar, but the tradition and personal histories of each are radically different. For each artist, the process of working is critical to the end result – the subconscious state of allowing the Dreaming (Pwerle) or the Kong (the Buddhist idea of empty space) to emerge and reveal the infinite (space, time), the order and chaos of the universe, the continuity of life and the connectedness between past, present and future. Hu Qinwu and Angelina Pwerle are worlds apart geographically, socially and culturally … apparently. Hu Qinwu was born in China during the time of the Cultural Revolution – a period of social upheaval but a mere ‘blip’ on the radar of the history of China. Angelina Pwerle was born into a society undergoing massive traumatic change following the arrival of European ‘invaders’ and the resultant challenge to the social structure, beliefs and traditions of a culture that had existed for thousands of years. Angelina Pwerle and Hu Qinwu’s art practices ‘merge’ through the visual impression created by similarities in their technical format –repeated overlayering of ‘dots’ covering the entire picture plane with subtle tonal variations and monochromatic colour. The mark-making is immersive, the states of being are almost transcendental, the sense of ‘control’ and letting go of control to allow the intrinsic and intuitive to determine the form are common to each. Abstraction conveys a totality of the visual world and the psychic/spiritual domains which is inherent in the act of creation.

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Reg Newett, Curator, Beijing June 2011