Artist Explores Gravity as a Metaphor for Existence and Creation

Guan Yinfu's solo exhibition "2718 kg" is now on display at the Long Museum West Bund.

The exhibition derives its name from the literal weight of the artworks presented by the artist. It explores gravity not only as a physical measure but also as a profound metaphor for the essence of existence and creation.

Featuring approximately 30 paintings and sculptures, the exhibition will be open to the public until January 11, 2026.

This theme stems from the artist's exploration of materiality. He aimed to create a series of works on the concept of "weight," intending to redefine the relationship between art and matter.

As a physical entity, every painting bears its own weight, a simple fact of its material existence. Yet upon this fact, we endow painting with layers of cultural and spiritual meaning, transcending materiality itself to attain significance.

The exhibition is organized into three sections, reflecting Guan's artistic practice over the past five years.

In the Color Series, he explores the fundamental questions of painting – color, form, volume, and weight – and how, upon this foundation, a spiritual dialectic between content and form, reality and imagination, emerges. These universal reflections then return to his personal subjectivity – to his life, experiences, and environment, and to his conscious engagement with cultural identity.

In the monumental Black and White Series, Guan draws upon his long-standing sensibilities rooted in expressionism and stage design to forge a Chinese philosophical meditation on black, gray, and white, exploring the relationships among materiality, force, emptiness, and drama. His works thus exist between painting, design, relief, and stage, blurring the boundaries among image, object, and space.

In the final section of the exhibition, the artist turns to the simplicity and essence of black, seeking to construct a perceptual system that stands in contrast to the "white" of art history. He invokes the spiritual symbolism contained within color: how, from the finite substance of matter, one might reach the infinite realm of spirit.

Like the nature of darkness, black renders things hidden, blurred, and mysterious. It may also be said that black is born from an older, more inscrutable history, one that always carries a sense of premonition.

The newest Black Series can be seen as an homage to Robert Ryman, who devoted his life to the "white" of minimalism, and to Josef Albers, who created an encyclopedia of color. Guan borrows from their methods, carrying forward the rich legacy of minimalism.

Born in northeastern Heilongjiang Province in 1975, Guan is among the Chinese artists who use the most pigment, and one of the few who paint without a palette. His practice has always been devoted to an inquiry into color, weight, and matter – an inquiry that has, over time, become his own unmistakable signature.

Date: Through January 11, 10am-6pm (Tuesdays-Thursdays), 10am-9pm (Fridays-Sundays)

Admission: 140 yuan/US$19.7 (Tuesdays-Thursdays); 200 yuan (Fridays-Sundays)

Venue: Gallery 3, Long Museum West Bund

Address: 3398 Longteng Ave, Xuhui District

徐汇区龙腾大道3398号