Untitled

Abstract

Artist's statement: "In this work, I want to show the same theme as my second painting, which was consumerism. Due to timing problems and other personal reasons, this piece is not as finished as my pervious works. I chose to use collage with a bright and complex color palette to show the alluring nature of consumerism. But the objects I chose in the collage were too board to deliver my idea. I used painted ripped canvas and a small piece of mirror to build a prison, which shows how people are trapped in consumerism at our willing to escape. As for the circle parts around the canvas, the original idea is to use them as symbols of human beings. The dark black-red color palette represents how we were polluted by consumerism. One thing I learned from this piece is that I should find a more efficient way to show my idea. Instead of giving direct pictures, I could use some abstraction to play with the deeper meanings. On the other hand, I should be clearer about the themes I want the viewers to understand. From this work, I discovered that I prefer canvas than other non-traditional surface, and I would keep working on canvas for my further work. Also, I still want to focus on the relationship between consumerism people, but I need to find a new way to express it. It should be a combination of camouflage and abstraction."

This is a digital photograph of Qian Xu's painting. It was submitted as an assignment in the spring 2016 Intermediate/Advanced Painting class taught by Professor Erin Harmon.