Gao Xiang

(b. 1971, Kunming, China)

An interdisciplinary artist, Gao Xiang finds the harmony of contrasts, balancing between tradition and modernity, East and West, dreams and reality. His dream-like oil paintings, works on paper, and installations invite us to question, to look deeper.

While referencing Chinese history and mythology, he gives special significance to the figure of a horse. For Gao Xiang, the horse is a complex force that not only holds the mysteries of the universe and Chinese traditions but is a symbolic extension of his soul. The horse takes on a different meaning whether stacked as a pagoda of Tang Dynasty clay figures, pictured at full gallop, or bridging the earth and the stars. The power of the horse can be contained or unleashed, gentle or ferocious, like an internal dialogue with the soul.

The themes of Gao Xiang's major series - “The Horse Pagoda/The Dreams?” and “Who is the Doll?” – run throughout his paintings, works on paper, and installations. “Who is the Doll?” raises questions about gender equality while “The Horse Pagoda/The Dreams?” is an introspective exploration of the world within the context of Chinese history and mythology.

Gao Xiang’s acrylic and glass installations continue the theme of his paintings while referencing the classic Chinese landscaping concept of "borrowed scenery". The transparency of the glass allows the work to influence the background and the background to influence the perception of the work.

Born in 1971 in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, Gao Xiang holds a Masters and Ph.D. from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. He is a Professor at the Yunnan Arts University and the Art Director at the Yuan Xiaocen Art Museum in Kunming.

Gao Xiang's art is collected and exhibited by museums across Asia and continental Europe. His works have been commissioned by the Grand Palais in Paris and for public spaces in Norway and France. His unforgettable installations have been erected along the Great Wall of China and in the Forbidden Palace in Beijing.

Select Exhibitions, Projects, and Performances

Gao Xiang's works are collected by the Zhengda Art Museum in Shanghai, the China Century Museum, the Yonghe Art Museum, the Lingsheng Art Institute, the Yuan Art Museum, the Huantie Time Art Museum, the Ningbo Art Museum, the Xiameng Art Museum, Taiwan 85 Star Art Center, and the Vestfossen Art Museum in Norway. He has been widely exhibited in Asia (China, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea) and internationally, including United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Canada, and the United States.

Gao Xiang has lectured at the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre in Beijing, the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA - in the Oil Painting Department, Experimental Art Department, and School of Architecture), Sichuan Acedemy of Fine Arts, Yunnan Art lnstitute, Kyungpook National University in South Korea, Linkoping and Örebro Academy of Fine Arts in Sweden, the Chiangmai University Museum, as well as other universities in China and abroad.

2019

2019 “Intersecting Lines: The Second China — Europe Art Biennial” (United Nations City, Vienna, Austria)

“Exploring The Original Nature: Art Creation and Exhibition in Lu Gu Lake“ (Yuan Xiao Cen Art Museum, Kunming; Li Jiang Cultural Museum of Gucheng District , Li Jiang, China)

“Constellation: Yunnan Oil Painting Since 1978” (Kunming Contemporary Gallery, China)

“Wireless: The Second International Contemporary Exhibition” (Du Ge Art Space, Beijing, China)

“The Amplitude of Ectopic: Germany-China Art Exchange Exhibition” (Neues Schloss der Eremitage, Bayreuth, Kunsthaus Reitbahn3 Ansbach, Kunstmuseum Erlangen, Museum Schloss Ratibor, Germany)

2018

“Gao Xiang: Interrogating Dreams” (Kunstlerbund Gallery, Tuebingen, Germany)

“Above the Ink” The Fourth Kunming Art Biennial (Yunnan Art Museum, Kunming, China)

“Wireless: The International Contemporary Exhibition” (Du Ge Art Space, Beijing, China)

“The Amplitude of Ectopic: Germany-China Art Exchange Exhibition” (Yuan Xiao Cen Art Museum, Kunming, China)

The First Green,  L’etincelle Are Space, ShangHai, China

“Cypress of Alum: The Centenary of the Birth of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Arrival of the National Art Specialist in Yunnan 80 Years” (Yunnan Alumni Memorial Exhibition, Yuan Xiao Cen Art Museum, Kunming, China)

2017

“Gao Xiang: Interrogating Dreams” (Katrine Levin Galleries, London, UK)

“Gao Xiang: Interrogating Dreams” (Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

“2017 Yunnan Art Exhibition” (Kunming Museum, Kunming, China)

“Painting Memories, Guarding Home: A Chinese Cultural Heritage Art Exhibition” (Luoyang Museum, Luoyang, China)

2016 

From Nature to Mind – Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition (Today Art Museum, Beijing, China)

The Art Exhibition of Chinese Heritage (Chengde Summer Palace, Chengde, China)

Elephant,  The Symbol and Source of Life – Ten Artist’ Visions of India (Yuan Xiaocen Art Museum, Kunming, China)

2016 China-South Asia-Southeast Asia International Art Exhibition of Oil Painting (Yunnan Art Museum, Kunming, China)

2015

Salon Comparisons (Grand Palais, Paris, France)

The Spirit of China: The Fourth Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition -- A Study of Chinese Contemporary Expressionism Painting（Oil Painting Academy of China Art Research Institute, Beijing, China）

The State of The Two Kinds Art – German and China Art Exchange Exhibition ( Yuan XiaoCen Art Museum in Kunming, Neues Schioss der Eremtoge Bayreuth of Germany)

2014 

Poetry of Illusions - the Dialogue Exhibition of Marc Desgrandchamps and Gao Xiang (Ningbo Art Museum and Jiangsu Art Museum, China)

Somewhere Else（Resche Gallery, Fecampe of Normandie, France）

Woman and Other Things   (Pia Gallery, Paris, France)

The Exhibition of 10th Master Degree Class of Oil Painting Department in China Central Academy of Fine Arts（Oil Painting Academy of China Art Research Institute, Beijing, China）

Run with The Dream（Yuan Xiaocen Art Museum, Kunming, China）

Above the Landscape （Yunnan Museum, Kunming, China）

2013

The Thunder out of China (Arsenal Contemporary Art Museum, Montréal, Canada)

Urban Montage（Daegu Art Development Museum, Daegu, Korea）

The Exhibition of 10th Master Degree Class of Oil Painting Department in China Central Academy of Fine Arts （Tian Jin Art Museum, Shang Don Art Museum and Shi Jiazhuan Art Museum, China）

2012

“A View from Tiny Things”--joint exhibition by American artist Raymond Saunders and Chinese artist Gaoxiang (AnFu Gallery, ShangHai, China）

Looking for “Song of Pacing the Heavens”--Exhibition of Korea and Chinese Art（Kyungpook National University Museum, Korea and Yuan Xiaocen Art Museum, China）

Private View—Chinese Contemporary Art（Pierre Gallery, Paris, France）

The First Kunming Art Biennial ( Yunnan Museum, Kunming, China)

Fei Yi Hua Yi – Art Exhibition of Intangible Heritage ( Yunnan Art Museum, Kunming, China)

2011

Distance – China and Norway Art Exhibition（White Box Art Museum 798, Beijing and Vest-agderfylkesmuseu, Norway）

Art love Life（Yue Art Museum 798, Beijing, China）

Resonance（Douai City Culture Center, Douai, France）

Overlooking—The Third Exhibition of Spirit of Academic ( China Century Museum, Beijing, China)

 2010

Autumn Salon（Congress Palace Museum, Paris, France）

Summer Exhibition（Boaigate Gallery, Brussels, Belgium）

Art Beijing Peripheral Exhibition（Huan Tie Time Art, Beijing, China ）

Aggregate Perspective-China International Young Artists Exhibition（Korean Cultural Center, Beijing, China）

2009

Societe National Des Beaux-Arts Salon（Carrouse Louvre Museum, Paris, France）

Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition （Dongxi Gallery, Oslo, Norway）

From Nature to Mind – A Joint Exhibition From New Intellectual Artists  (China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China)

Open Art 2009 (Örebro Konsthall City Art Gallery,  Örebro, Sweden)

The Dreams ( Kapitan Gallery,  Örebro, Sweden)

Mind of Being  (University of Missouri, Columbia, United States )

LingSheng (Chinese Critics Recommended Exhibition  (Beijing Contemporary Art Museum,  Beijing, China)

The Eleventh National Fine Arts Exhibition (Hu Bei Province Art Museum, Wu Han, China)

Contemplation – Orient ( 798 New Age Gallery, Beijing, China)

2009 Art China（Huan Tie Time Art, Beijing, China ）

Other Modernisms (Yuan Art Center, Beijing, China)

Overlooking—Spirit of Academic ( China Century Museum, Beijing, China)

2008

Chinese Contemporary Art Document Exhibition (YongHe Art Museum and The Wall Art Museum, Beijing, China)

Open Art2008 (Örebro Konsthall City Art Gallery, Örebro, Sweden)

After Culture – Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Painting  (Yuan Art Center, Beijing, China)

The Third Young Artists‘ Exhibition of China (China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China)

2007

Return Back to Painting (Danish Art Exchange, Beijing, China)

Fusion and Creation — The 2007 Academic Invitational Exhibition of Chinese Oil Painting Masterpieces (Capital Museum, Beijing, China)

The Dreams?  (International Art City, Paris, France)

2006

Self-Made Generation---2005 a Retrospective of New Chinese Painting(Shanghai Zendai Museum of Fine Arts, Shanghai, China)

The Dreams of The Doll (Green T. House Gallery, Beijing, China)

Return Back to Painting (Guangzhou Art Fair, Guangzhou, China)

2005 International Visual Art Exhibition (Gallery Lista Fyr, Kristiansand, Norway) 

Impact (Silk Gallery, Harnosand, Sweden)

Poetic Connection (New Millennium Gallery,  Beijing, China)

2004

Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition (Kwangju National Museum of Fine Arts, Kwangju, Korea)

The Dreams (TCG Nordica Gallery, Kunming, China)

The Mekong Project---Artist's Residency Program (Sovanna Phum Theatre, Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

2003

The Third Oil Painting Exhibition of China (China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China)

The Mekong Project--- Artists' Residency Program (Chiang Mai University Art Museum ChiangMai, Thailand, Luang Prabang, Laos)

Gui Zhou Biennale (Gui Zhou Art Museum, Gui Yang, China)

2002

Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition (International Canvas Art Gallery,  Amsterdam, Holland)

2001

China Oil Painting Exhibition of Scholarship & Excellence (China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing)

Select Publications

Poetry of Illusions - the Dialogue Exhibition of Marc Desgrandchamps and Gao Xiang (2014, Chinese Book Publishing House)

Monograph Pattern·Style – Collected Works of Doctoral Research of China Central Academy of Fine Art, Gao Xiang (Anhui Province Fine Arts Publishing House, 2000)

 Monograph Contemplation on Space: A Study of Giorgio Morandi's Painting, Gao Xiang, (People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 2008)

 Monograph The Significance of Space: a Study of the form of Giorgio Morandi's Painting, Gao Xiang, (Yunnan University Publishing Press, 2008)

Running through the Streets of Beijing, Gao Xiang, (Bleu De Chine Press, France, 2000). French version was completed with the famous French scholar Roger Darrobers.