Capsule Shanghai is pleased to present a solo project by Chinese artist Kong Lingnan (b. 1983 in Jilin Province, China), showcasing her recent oil paintings on wood making their debut at Art Antwerp. Rooted in her on-going exploration of the inner world, this body of works continues to bridge the human and the unseen worlds through Kong’s journey to the Greek islands following the physical and spiritual paths of the late American poet Robert Lax (1915 - 2000). The works portray scenes inspired by real-world experience, and yet reflect psychological landscapes. Realized with glazing and other ancient techniques commonly used in classical painting, the delicate and nuanced works shimmer in a mystic aura that transcends specificity of time and space.
Robert Lax’s poetry employs minimal vocabulary to create rhythm through chanting of repetition and unexpected change of pattern, conjuring a sense of serenity and timelessness reminiscent of the constant waves in the ancient waters of Greece, where Lax lived in seclusion for decades. For this research-based project, Kong followed Lax’s path on the islands of Kalymnos and Patmos, piecing together his life experience through recollection of local communities. Sponge Divers (2022) is inspired by the historically prominent and extremely dangerous local industry of sponge harvesting in Kalymnos, where flames light up the black water, guiding divers through the tangled seaweed up towards the surface, whereas Celebration (2022) commemorates the sponge divers' aspiration for prosperity and courage to navigate the unknown world underwater, for death lurks in the Shadow (2022) and a soul can easily get lost in the labyrinth of Deep Sea (2022).
Kong witnessed in Patmos (2021) faithful love between a couple that transcends death, which incarnates in her painting Inseparable Forms (2022), representing two feline forms morphing into oneness against iridescent infinity. Lax remained an observer of romantic love and never became a participator, for his devotion was to the search for spiritual purity. Patmos is known for its religious heritage and constellation of chapels and monasteries; Blue Chapel (2022) depicts one of them – modest, tranquil, and luminous under the starlight. It was in this space in between realms where Lax found his path to the ultimate Separation (2022) of material and spiritual existence, and where the artist traced the poet’s steps and embarked on her own journey within. In River of Life (2022), the artist contemplates Lax’s poetry, whose verses rise and fall like the breathing of the ocean, chanting the cycle of life. Friend (2022) and Chatting (2021) celebrate the bond between Lax and his confidant, and the resonance the artist shares with her congenial creative minds.
Prompted by Kong’s initial emotional response to the poems, this group of works reflects her lived experience of traveling in contemporary Greece and revisiting recollections of the poet. Like a roll of double-exposed film, the presentation brings together lives spanning miles and decades apart to rejoice in the fantastical land of the mind.
