Mountains Are Gentle and Seem to Smile

2024
Organic pigment on 640 g/m² Saunders paper
56 x 76 cm

These drawings bring the spectator along a journey of form. Composed of pure pigment on thick, scroll-like paper, they hover somewhere between abstraction and a distorted landscape. Their title refer to the text Linquan Gaozhi (林泉高致) by the Song Dynasty painter Guo Xi (郭熙), a collection of notes in which the artist reflects on the seasonal changes in the landscape. “In spring,” Guo writes, “mountains are gentle and seem to smile…in winter, they appear desolate and seem to sleep.” Looking closely, hints of familiar shapes may emerge: the movement of water, the outlines of mountains, the sun behind clouds. But they remain just that—hints. Neither these drawings nor the Song paintings were created from observable life. Instead, they attempt to capture an idea—of nature, an emotion, or one’s inner world.