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April 2000
Long Gao
Chinese Master ArtistGao Long
will mount a solo exhibition showing a
variety of work including oils on canvas, traditional Chinese landscapes in
ink, a collection of wood carvings and a group of his well-known stone
prints or "Image Seal Cuttings" at Jeffrey Moose Gallery from March 31st
through May 12th. A reception for the artist will be held on Friday, March
31st from 5:30 to 8:30 PM.
Mr. Gao is a talent with very few peers. He is currently an Artist in
Residence at the Tacoma Art Museum for the acclaimed "Inside Out" exhibition
of contemporary Chinese art showing at the Tacoma Art Museum and the UW's
Henry Gallery.
His reputation in China is legendary: he was the Vice Chairman of the
Association of Artists under the Ministry of Radio Film and TV and Director
of the Jiu-San Association of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Research in
the Peoples Republic of China. Mr. Gao received widespread international
recognition for his book of "Image Seal Cuttings", an art form based on the
most ancient of Chinese art forms, Seal Cutting. This is a medium which
marries visual art and literature; the thoughts of an artist are portrayed
in both imagery and poetry. An image is carved in reverse into a stone and
then printed, then a poem or line of text is added next to the picture. His
"Seal Cuttings" are collected by the Beijing Library in China, the U.S.
Library of Congress, the Seattle Public Library and many universities
throughout the U.S..
Mr. Gao has worked in many media in addition to his seal cuttings. His oil
paintings, traditional Chinese landscape paintings and abstract sculpture in
metals are all superb. His skill at carving wood is astounding. His carvings
of faces, animals and abstractions are compelling 3D versions of the seal
cuttings, but with the added vitality lent by the warmth of wood grain and
the mark of the sculptor's tools. All of the artist's efforts include forms
derived from traditional Chinese folk imagery, tools and even philosophical
concepts.
Mr. Gao's talent is so broad, so refined that Jerome Silbergeld, Professor
of Chinese Art History at the University of Washington (and author of two of
the five books published in English on 20th Century Chinese artists)
declares that "...of the Chinese artists who have come to the U.S. in the
last fifteen years, some of whom represent the highest level found in China,
... I would rank Gao's work among the best."
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