The Virtuous Being
Hao Liang Chinese
Not on view
This work is a complex and layered homage to the history of literati gardens. The scroll begins by reimagining the most famous garden painting in Chinese history, Wang Wei’s (699–759) Wangchuan Villa, as a series of ghostly ruins. Slowly, the scroll transitions to color from black and white. The painting then shifts to an exploration of the Ming-dynasty garden of the scholar Wang Shizhen, in Taicang, Jiangsu. From there, Hao takes the viewer on a journey to the present day, where Wang’s garden, which was destroyed in the twentieth century, has been rebuilt. The new garden features a garish Ferris wheel, which Hao shows spinning off its axis and spewing its cars across the scroll, across boundaries of space and time.
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This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.