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MY BAD IDEAS
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Gao Hang was born in 1991 in Baoding, China and now lives and works in Houston, Texas. He received his bachelor's degree from Capital Normal University, China, and his master's degree from Houston University, US. He recently exhibited at L21 Gallery (Palma, Spain), The Hole (NY, US), Breach Gallery (Miami, US), Waluso Gallery (London, UK) and COVA Gallery (Eindhoven, Netherlands). His works have been collected by the CICA Museum of Art, Gyeonggi-do (Korea), the Lawndale Art Center (Houston, US), the Art Museum of Capital Normal University (Beijing, China) and the Chinese Quintessence Arts Museum (Beijing, China).
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"I am sure my art process has something to do with my habits and obsessions. I mostly listen to standup comedy while making my work. I enjoy standup comedy that challenges general beliefs, and political correctness, yet at its core is negotiating between the observations, language, and laughter of a given performance. Then you realize that it’s no paradox, but a good conversation between the performer and the audience. At some point, my paintings are like standup comedy, they can only do so much about solving real problems. But brutal honesty, absurdity, and humor are very powerful qualities in any type of conversation."
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"My recent paintings are concerned with image “definition” in digital graphics, especially those from the last 20 years. I understand digital graphics as 21st century “found objects”. I am interested in objects that are bathing in modern technology’s greatness, while exposing a certain rawness, oddity, or awkwardness. When I first encountered 3D modeling and graphic rendering in computer games in the late 20th century, I was totally shocked. From the last 20 years, I was inspired by the fact that how graphical spectaculars could end up being rawness and ridicule in the digital image evolution. However, it is that rawness and ridicule that triggers the same creative impulse with what the painting process can offer. The effect is an actual physical feedback during process: could be surprise, a shifting attitude, a more extreme emotion – my secretions as a human being. I want my practice to simulate a modern production method, but with a high fault tolerance."
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Sourcing from his diverse experiences ranging from an artistic training in China in traditional oil painting to experiments with a variety of art techniques in the US, Hang developed his own pictorial language using airbrush as a medium. He refers to the smoothness of the surface altered by filters and questions the urge for technical development and the ever-improving high definition in the digital world. His self-described ‘bad ideas’ take a deeper look at the phenomenon of social media, explore the dynamics of our era, and document the current zeitgeist, while intentionally leaving the development of ‘smart ideas’ to the viewer. The interpretation of the depicted time capsules is therefore individually different, and the works unfold through the viewer’s eyes.
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Bright neon colors, blurred surfaces, and straightforward references – in the heyday of social media and internet perfection, Hang’s mesmerizing paintings hit the zeitgeist in a humorous yet brutally honest and eye-opening way.
Gao Hang - My bad ideas
Past viewing_room
