Gao Rong: I Live in Beijing!

Klein Sun Gallery is delighted to announce Gao Rong’s first major solo exhibition, "I Live in Beijing!." An unbelievably realistic and fanciful expression of the artist's memory of her own studio and home, the exhibit showcases stunning sculptures that are carefully embroidered to ensnare the viewer in an illusion of reality. By recreating familiar objects and environments such as a leaking and rusted shower room, used shipping crates and cardboard boxes, as well as a full-scale, well-used motor-tricycle through the use of cloth, sponge, wire, steel frames and skillful embroidery, Gao Rong pulls each viewer into her world to witness the subtle details that affect and define her life.

Instead of utilizing embroidery to "paint" traditional themes like flowers, dragons, and birds, Gao Rong uses the traditional art form to detail cracking paint, grime, dust, and the effects of time. Her work provides each viewer with more than just an aesthetically beautiful object--it immerses the individual in an experience.

In I Live in Beijing!, Gao Rong reconstructs and shares emotions held within her own home.Sofa No. 1 and Sofa No. 2, which first appear as simple white sofas, are in fact painstakingly embroidered with thousands of stiches to simulate the wear and tear of years of use. In addition, the artist has reconstructed her dilapidated bathroom wall and floor. By meticulously stitching descending grime from the shower handle to the floor, the artist shares in vivid detail a previously private and a wonderfully moving life experience. The patience and detail behind these works allow the viewer access into the artists' memory and to witness some of her most personal spaces. 

The artist's everyday life occurs not just in the home however, but at work as well. Gao Rong pays tribute to work and her studio by crafting cardboard boxes, a large shipping crate, and even an unused frame utilizing only her extraordinary talents with embroidery. The details of the wear on the crate, cardboard boxes, and frame thrust each viewer into the world of the artist's mind as they bare witness to familiar objects that have been whimsically assembled utilizing a traditional art form. Additionally, replicas of construction panels stand as testimony to the outside environment Gao Rong lives in. As tools used to facilitate China's rapid growth, the objects are encrusted with dirt through her embroidery and thus are transformed from familiar objects into works of wonder and awe.