Wang Jinbo: The Magical Safehouse

EVENT DESCRIPTION

SENS Gallery is pleased to announce “The Magical Safehouse” in collaboration with XU Gallery in Shanghai. The exhibition will showcase the work of Chinese artist Wang Jinbo, on view from 24th of November to 10th of December 2022. “The Magical Safehouse” explores the dreamlike worlds of Wang’s artworks, reflecting on the tranquility and repose he feels within the universe he creates.

Glittering lights brighten across the surface of Wang Jinbo’s paintings, used as an artistic language to express comfort and security from the anxiety plaguing the artist and the generation he belongs to. Psychological instability is veiled under ethereality, a reflection of the social phenomenon where individuals feel simultaneously social yet isolated.

The journey of exploring his inner self is Wang Jinbo’s process of creation to achieve self-reconciliation. The pandemic provided him with solitary contemplation and opportunity for self-exploration, allowing him to create artwork that he hopes resonates with viewers to reconcile with themselves. Identifying as an individual with insecurities and social fear, he is only letting go of everything when he puts himself within the worlds he constructs. Comfort and familiarity take precedence in Wang’s creative mindset, focusing on scenes and characters that hold understanding and relevance to his feelings.

Wang uses his artwork as a solution to cope with the social dilemma he is facing. His true self, entangled and resistant, is masked by a false image of an individual in bright and eloquent conversation with others. The figures epitomise solitude and alienation seen from a bystander perspective, allowing room for thought regarding how an individual copes with solitude, anxiety, and social concerns.

Painting is a process for Wang to meditate and to be able to digest messages. He focuses on the present, working spontaneously instead of creating through a plan. Wang’s paintings emphasize on colour, detailing contoured lines of illustrated figures. Sparkling texture is a technique extracted from his previous works, transforming from flickers to sparkles to visualise an otherworldly universe in which Wang finds himself comfortable.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Wang Jinbo (b. 1992) currently lives and works in Chongqing, China. He graduated from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts with a bachelor’s degree in 2016 and a master’s degree from the School of Plastic Arts at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 2020. His paintings feature sparkling light effects to conceal his entangled feelings from social anxiety, visualising feelings of calmness and comfort through ethereal images of faceless figures and blurred textures.

During lockdowns from the pandemic, Wang was inspired by the solitude and deep contemplation and created paintings that are healing for both the creator and the viewer. Pulled out from his imagination, Wang's artwork highlights entangled characters relaxed in confinement, emphasizing colour and contoured lines to create bold and shimmering images.

His work has been exhibited in a solo exhibition at the ‘BFC Art Festival’ at the Bund Finance Center (Shanghai, 2022) and at group exhibitions including ‘JINGART Beijing Contemporary Art Fair’ with Xu Gallery (Shanghai, 2022), ‘Shenzhen DnA Contemporary Art Fair’ (Powerlong Art Center, Xiamen, 2022), ‘Nap of the Earth Flight’ (Art Museum of Sichuan Art Institute, Chongqing, 2022) and ‘Beautiful Home’ (Powerlong Art Center, Shanghai, 2021).

He has received a nomination for Porsche’s ‘Young Chinese Artist of the Year’ (2021), received the prizes ‘Emerging Artist of The Signature Art Prize of ARTCLOUD China’ and the Golden Award for ‘Beautiful Home’ (both 2021). He has also completed a residency at the Young Artist Residency Program at the Sichuan Art Institution (2021-2022).