Into the Wood

From September 27， 2013， to Janu- ary 5， 2014， the exhibition “Wang Keping” will run at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art （UCCA） in Beijing. One of China’s earliest contemporary sculptors， Wang included more than 50 wood sculptures in this exhibition， displaying his work across 35 years with a broad range of subjects and styles.

As an artist using sculpture as his creative language， Wang has been devoting all his time and energy to wood. Sizes of his work vary drastically， from only a few centimeters to several meters high. His sculptures appear simple， yet conjure absurd and twisted beauty and distraction. His work consistently inspires art enthusiasts to ponder， reminding them of work by Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi， China’s sculptures of the Han Dynasty （206 B.C.–220 A.D.）， and even worship totems of Africa. However， his unconventional shapes and sexual themes remain singular.

At the end of the 1970s， Wang began to produce some political-themed sculptures， influenced by the social environment of the era. After he relocated to France in 1984， his practice began focusing more on naturalism. In general， Wang’s work falls into one of five categories： women， people， birds， benevolence， and eroticism. In this exhibition， works across all the five categories are on display at UCCA.

Wang’s persistence and devotion has elevated him past many of his peers. During preparation， he cuts a log into pieces，and then leaves the pieces untouched for months or even years. He patiently waits for his materials to change over time， embracing withering and cracking， until they become stable with unique characteristics. Wang’s early experience as a carpenter enables him to predict the final condition of his wood. The nature of his work is determined by the wood’s natural shape and internal properties. “Sometimes， my wood talks to me and gives me inspiration，” he claims. “Every tree resembles a human body， with bones and flesh， and is made up of many contrasting parts： soft， hard， fragile， and strong. We should cooperate with wood， rather than go against its nature.”

Wang’s creations are rebellious， in a way. At the end of the 1970s， as one of the founders of the avant-garde art group The Stars， Wang joined the other members such as Huang Rui and Ma Desheng to fight for artistic freedom in China. Now， although he has been living abroad for nearly 30 years， his fight continues – not in a political sense， but rather against aesthetic forms. He criticizes contemporary art as a whole and believes that compared to artists who blindly pursue new fads， his sculptures are more honest artistic expressions.

Unlike many modern artists who hire assistants to aid their work， Wang opts to work alone. “For me， sculpting is like making love with a woman，” he reveals. “How can you ask somebody else to help you with this？” From selecting wood to firing， sculpting， and polishing – Wang controls every step.

Although he usually veers away from mainstream art circles， Wang insists that there isn’t a wide gap between his style and the spirit of contemporary art. “I seek the source of traditional or primitive Chinese art through my sculpting，” he asserts. “The deeper I go， the closer I get to my concept of contemporary art.”