Mythical tales of love, the universe and everything set amidst ancient constellations, Gao Xiang’s art weaves the stories of our world.

For Gao Xiang, the horse is a complex force that not only holds the mysteries of the universe and Chinese traditions but is also a symbolic extension of his soul. In rendering the stars, he often uses ancient Chinese astronomy charts for inspiration.

Zi Wei doushu, known in English as Purple Star Astrology, is one of the five arts of Chinese metaphysics. Similar to western astrology, it references the position of the cosmos at the time of one's birth to predict aspects of one’s personality and life.

The Purple Star (Polaris), referenced in the painting above, is associated with Yin Earth and the ideal leadership qualities of an Emperor, such as benevolence, neutrality, stability, wisdom, power, wealth and even healing and rescuing.

Floating in the heavens is a Goddess lost in contemplation, dreaming of her mortal lover on earth. The horse below her is shaped like a Tang Dynasty figurine as a nod to a period in Chinese history when the arts flourished.

Gao Xiang is a reluctant secular whose life path led him to a venerable career in art, just as predicted by the head monk who initially denied him training as a novice Buddhist monk on grounds that he is destined for something great outside the Buddhist temple.

Born in 1971 in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, Gao Xiang holds a Masters and a Ph.D. from the prestigious 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.

I am proud to represent this exceptional artist. See more of his paintings, inks, and sculptures on his Artist Page here: https://www.katrinelevin.com/artistpage-gao-xiang and if you like his art, don’t miss our winter sale, through end of February.