Trailside Galleries-East Meets West: Calvin Liang | Huihan Liu | Jie Wei Zhou Show Preview

INSIDE Santa Fe • Taos • Painters of Canyons and Deserts • Art of the Horse MAY 2019

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UPCOMING SHOW

S HOW LO C AT ION JAC K S ON HOL E , W Y

Up to 30 works May 20-June 1, 2019 Trailside Galleries, 130 E. Broadway Avenue, Jackson Hole, WY 83001 (307) 733-3186 www.trailsidegalleries.com

East meets West

Calvin Liang, Fishing Boat, oil on canvas, 16 x 20”

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hinese landscapes and cultures will take center stage in the exhibition East Meets West at Trailside Galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, May 20 through June 1. The show features the artwork of three prominent painters—Huihan Liu, Calvin Liang and Jie Wei Zhou—that range from boats and waterways to figures.

According to the gallery, “The contemporary Chinese art scene has continued to rapidly evolve and gain worldwide recognition, much of it due to increased contact with the West. Artists such as Liang, Liu and Zhou continue to find both critical and financial success as they redefine Chinese art, blending Western influences with their unique and ancient heritage.”

Zhou focuses on ethnic tribes in Tibet, Mongolia and China, such as the Miao people.

Among his paintings for the show is Miao Girl,

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Jie Wei Zhou, Miao Girl, oil on canvas, 20 x 15"

which was inspired by the headdresses the women wear. “My passion for their culture was fostered when I was a student visiting the Guizhou province during the summer,” he explains. “The elaborate clothing and jewelry are important to their culture because each daughter in a family receives a beautiful dress and headdress that was passed down for generations. I always remember the personal significance of these wardrobes when I depict them in my artwork.”

In his pieces for the exhibition, Liang depicts the Chinese hometown boats and water towns. He says, “The hometown boats are in Kaiping, which is in southern of China. Before, some people used to live in that kind of boat for their whole life. Now the Chinese government moved all of those fishermen to apartments, and then saved all of those boats for the tourists who visit. It is a nature reserve now.”

Last October, Liu visited the Sanshui near Guangzhou and had the chance to paint a Tanka floating village. These people and their culture inspired Liu’s paintings for the show. “The Tanka are a group of people, of ancient origin, who live scattered throughout southern China. Traditionally living on coastal waterways, they have lived on houseboats for many centuries,” he shares. “Many of them are in Guangdong province, where their houseboats roam ceaselessly up and down rivers to find the best fishing. As modern life continues to make its impact, the older Tanka generation feels that theirs will be the last to preserve this floating lifestyle.”

Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he ex h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. co m

Huihan Liu, Colorful Break, oil on linen board, 11 x 14”

Calvin Liang, Watertown, oil on canvas, 16 x 20”

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