Cui Jie: Thermal Landscapes at Pilar Corrias
Is it a building or a rabbit? Thanks to Cui Jie, it’s both.
Mixing together the old and the new, Jie’s paintings challenge the idea of our ever rising skylines and how they effect the nature around them.
Full of complex layers, intricate details and crisp textures, Jie’s paintings show huge glass buildings next to oversized animal sculptures, creating surreal scenes that highlight the contrast between modern skyscrapers and traditional Chinese ceramics.
Her work plays with the idea of how China has rapidly modernised since the 1980s, using the skyscrapers as a symbol of that change, while the ceramic animals represent a nostalgic look back at China's past. Once mass-produced in China for export, Jie (born 1983, China) uses the ceramics to examine how China's culture has become intertwined with globalisation.
As someone who loves both abstract art and architecture, I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was walking into Pilar Corrias and seeing Jie’s large scale, colourful pieces hanging on the walls.
Hear from the artist herself in this brief video walkthrough of the exhibition from Pilar Corrias
With her bold colours and unique style, Cui Jie gets us thinking about how the contemporary and the traditional sit side-by-side in our cities and landscapes.
Her work makes you question not just the future of modern buildings, but the sustainability of these skyscrapers as well, and asks how modern architecture effects our cultural heritage and traditions.
You can follow Cui Jie on Instagram for updates about her work.