It is impossible to separate the experience of knowing Li Jiaduo from that of viewing his work. The warmth of his personality, his generosity and the sincerity of his interactions with others infuse his landscape paintings. Currently a city dweller, Jia Duo carries the quiet centeredness of his upbringing in the rural countryside of Jiang Xi province. In both choice of subject and process, I recognize these qualities at work. Jia Duo’s paintings are at once tended to with great care and realized with energetic abandon.
When encountering Jiaduo’s recent landscape paintings, I am struck by the heavenly perspective of the artist. Perched high and situated among the cliffs of Tai Hang mountain, Jiaduo’s gaze encompasses an almost omniscient view. Seen from high above, clouds and rushing waters surround vertical cliffs and wind-swept trees. Washes of grey weave among cascading marks and dense, percussive flurries of ink and water - this is a purely sensual and other worldly experience.
On close examination, energetic marks create dense abstract fields of visual texture interspersed with frothy and breathless white space. From a distance, these patterns come together to create tiered, vegetated and alpine vistas. I can imagine the fresh air and feel the cool mist rising from the rivers below and the powdery dryness of the rocky ledge Jiaduo occupies.
His paintings of flowers reveal another vision altogether – one full of lush, plump shapes, rendered up close and with a free hand toward color. Peonies, bamboo, and fish inhabit these works. Here, Jiaduo’s abstract gestural forms are juxtaposed with linear elements and express exuberance with life and the artist’s process. One marvels at the confidence and sure hand of the maker.
Li Jiaduo’s love for his hometown of Ping Xiang and his enthusiasm for pleinair painting culminate in his large scale works. Expansive, rhythmic patterns define changing topography and alternate with intimate, gestural details of daily life in the countryside. The sustained intensity of creating works of this measure affirm his spirited engagement with the natural world and his generous artistic vision.
Susan Messer 美國威斯康辛大學白水校區藝術系主任、教授