Xin Mao Collections 1110

The vista under Xiao Fangkai's melodious brushwork seems to perpetually cloak in a blanket of haze and mist. The nebulous and smoky effect produces a disconnect between the viewer and the view: as one looks into the distance, the wall between one's hardened exterior and his innermost voice dissolves. This perception is subtly heightened in this piece: the silhouette of the house in the distance is obscured; the edge surrounding the vista is swathed in the expanding, dirty-brown brushstrokes, acting as a window that separates the viewer from the view. At that, the composition segues into a sentimental perspective.

Here, Xiao transforms a physical space into a psychological dimension, the view of an outdoor sketching into an aspiration. The mood and nuanced tonality in this oil painting by Xiao are akin to traditional Chinese ink and wash pieces; it also exhibits the literati ethos in Chinese ink paintings, offering the viewer a refuge where he can take comfort in being his true self, and his imaginations.