Artist: Wu Xueli (b. 1962)
Born in 1962 in Beijing, China, Ms Wu Xueli is an artist who specialises in oil painting. Before migrating to Singapore in 1991, she graduated from the Department of Linguistics Arts at the Beijing Institute of International Politics in 1984. She has also earned her Bachelor and Master degrees in Fine Art from the Royal Melbourne Institute (RMIT) in Australia. From 1985 to 1987, she taught at the Art Academy of Qing Hua University (formerly known as the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts), exhibiting for the first time in 1985 at the Chinese Avant-Garde Artists Exhibition at the British Embassy in Beijing.
She established the Wu Xueli Gallery in Singapore in 2017 and is currently a lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), having participated in many group exhibitions and holding numerous solo exhibitions throughout her career as an artist. Collectors of her works include the China Art Museum, Singapore Art Museum, OdysseyRe Corporation in France, Li Ke Ran Art Foundation, Song Art Foundation, various art organisations and private connoisseurs in China and abroad.
As one of the most famous palette knife artists, Ms Wu adds at least forty layers of colours to her paintings and paints in an abstract style with a wide variety of colours that makes her pieces stand out vibrantly and beautifully. For her earlier works, she mostly drew inspiration from sceneries in Nature and in her surroundings. Abstract art now gives Ms Wu the freedom to let the rhythm and flow of her colours on the canvas to guide her.
Lotus
“By means of microscopic observation and astronomical projection the lotus flower can become the foundation for an entire theory of the universe and an agent whereby we may perceive the Truth. And first we must know that each of the petals has eighty-four thousand veins and that each vein gives eighty-four thousand lights.” (Yukio Mishima, The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love)
Painted during a period of loss, Lotus and the other art works of the series reflect a delicate strength present in its creator. By substituting a paint brush for a palette knife, Ms Wu is able to create a textured, life-like scenic piece of lotus floating on a pond. The layers of colour add dimension to the cerulean waters and vividity to the blooming flowers. While titled Lotus, the humble subject only occupies a small portion of the painting and yet, they still capture the audience’s attention. In the swathes of blue, the pale pink petals of the lotus flowers adorn the refreshing waters with a sense of serenity and contented bliss. Without the flowers, the water may appear barren, stagnant, and lacklustre. Simultaneously, oversized flowers would seem too blatant, especially given its title, thus being unstimulating to viewers. Ms Wu’s perceptive intelligence radiates through Lotus with her acute grasp of proportions and colour combinations.
Keen eyes would spot touches of red at multiple spots of the painting, causing art appreciators to wonder if there is something swimming beneath the pond. They may imagine plump koi fishes flicking their fluid tails as they glide smoothly beneath the floating lotus, creating ripples on the surface that rock the flowers gently. This idyllic painting is best suited for the introspective thinker who patiently observes the details of the artwork which is intended to reveal more aspects of itself with each viewing. In this expressionist style oil painting, Ms Wu Xueli exhibits Nature as a constant, quietly awaiting humans to discover its enduring, unchanging beauty.
Universe
At first glance, this crimson and amber bears little resemblance to the universe we are familiar with. It is exactly this stark distinction from our preconceived notions that gives glory and magnificence to Universe, an abstract expressionism artwork. Rather than using the conventional blacks, blues, and purples to depict the vast celestial abyss, Ms Wu Xueli uses the colours of fire to paint the universe. Fire gives humans life, as does the Sun in the universe. Like the flickering flames of fire that consumes everything it licks, the expansive universe is unfathomable and envelops the planets and stars. In the sea of crimson red, the amber yolk of Universe may be perceived as the glowing Sun that floods the universe with lights. The dark colours that peek out from the topmost saffron layer heightens the enigma of the painting, and Ms Wu’s astronomically (pun intended) ambitious piece thus avoids being a generic replication of the mysteries behind our sheltering sky.
In another abstract expressionist piece, Ms Wu Xueli depicts a school of rainbow fish under charging waves. Unlike in Lotus, the waters are turbulent and stormy, and the sea is painted from an aerial view. Art appreciators may suspect a shift in the painter’s mood as she depicts two similar waterbodies in disparate ways.
Ms Wu layers the tempestuous blue waves with a sheen of white that gives the waters a glistening appearance as the light strikes the moving surface. Her painting captures an irreplicable moment as the tides are bound to turn and the currents will sweep the fishes away in different directions. The multicoloured fish cluster at one corner of the painting, swimming leisurely amid the violent waters. Alternatively, it is possible that the fish are dispersed through the waters but the gleam from the water surface conceals their presence. Either way, the aquatic creatures are undaunted by and indifferent towards the roaring waves. They are, after all, in their element. From another perspective, for homo sapiens living on dryland, the setbacks and challenges we encounter can be no different from other daily occurrences. Life can be spectacular when we learn to adjust to circumstances and to “just keep swimming”.
In the Disney film, Pocahontas sang: “You can own the Earth and still/All you'll own is Earth until/You can paint with all the colours of the wind.” Each day, as the sun sets and rises, we are treated to a boundless rhapsody of colours that stretch above our heads. The tones and hues of Ms Wu’s palette forge a unity between the glimmering sky and the sea that it dyes. One can imagine that as viewers stop to study the painting in the four-walled exhibition, they would look out a window for comparison and wonder why they rarely ventured outside to look at that limitless ‘roof’ that inspired the piece.
An interesting note about the oil painting is that art goers may picture it to be of a sunrise or sunset, and their assumption may be influenced by their state of mind. Similar to the reader’s response theory in literature, it is arguable that visual art is incomplete if the viewer’s thoughts or feelings towards the piece are omitted. The painting’s ambiguity may thus present another side to expressionism- not only does the artist express himself/herself through his/her work, the audience also reveals a facet of himself/herself through the piece.
There is a Chinese proverb - 水火不容, that claims fire and water cannot coexist. Ms Wu Xueli proves otherwise. Fire and water are typically mutually destructive as water quells burning flame while fire turns boiling water into steam. However, in this spectacular painting of the intersection between the flame tree and the sea, art appreciators are treated to an unusual harmony. Ms Wu’s pigmented abstract expressionist work mirrors the yin and yang symbol to show the complementary dualism between ‘fire’ and water. The palette knife creates thin, broken lines that resemble the intricate ruby and wine leaves of the stunning flame tree that rustle in the breeze. Under the tree canopy, the sparkling sea is hypnotic with its ebbing waves and the blazing flame tree does not detract from its magnificence. The oil painting evokes a sense of rejuvenation as the ‘fire’ and water are precariously separated by a thin boundary but seem to strengthen with each viewing.
As a self-identified “colourist painter” Ms Wu Xueli’s colourful works have been her way of self-expression for over 20 years. Her paintings that trace her emotional and spiritual journey through life and its gifts or setbacks move art goers with its heartfelt sincerity and meditative quality. Colours, unexplainable without sight, capable of extravagance and nuance, are a language without words. The messages Ms Wu’s paintings communicate extend beyond her personal experiences to encompass universal virtues of Beauty, Truth, and Wisdom.
