Liu Wentao

Born in 1973 Qingdao Shandong, lives in Beijing
Graduated in BFA Printmaking 1997
from Central Academy of Fines Arts, Beijing
Graduated in MFA Fine Arts 2005
from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Exhibition ‘Meta’, WHITE SPACE BEIJING, 2018
Courtesy of WHITE SPACE BEIJING
www.whitespace-beijing.com
@whitespacebeijing

刘文涛

1973年生于山东青岛, 现居住于北京
1997年毕业于中央美术学院版画系学士
2005年毕业于美国麻省州立大学绘画系硕士
展览«元», 北京空白空间, 2018年
图片来自空白空间

Meta

In front of Liu Wentao’s paintings, it feels like we are isolated in a temple, very quiet and serene, where we can slow down the paces, empty our mind, breathe and meditate, let ourselves step into the void. 

Grey, but varying shades of grey, simply made with graphite pencils. However, the lines are dense, producing compact refracted surfaces. From different angles, the paintings give a subtle metal texture. Some of the paintings are like black holes, but there is always light somewhere, even though we don’t know exactly where the light comes from, either how far the light is. 

This is the work of a monk: austere repetition every day, strict mathematical precision, simple and basic drawing materials. The work is the record of time, each line is tracing time. It has been a decade that Liu Wentao is practising the method or this tenet. 

To me, the uncertain space is more intriguing, just like the experience of looking into the water: One does not really know the depth. I’m obsessed with this uncertainty of depth, distance, and space. My work is not about creating physical things; it is more about an investigation of depth within a state of mind. It is more about the mental and contemplative practice in aspiring to an inner empty space of heightened awareness.