Frame-shaped Paintings

Series

2017-2023

'Frame-shaped Paintings' continues to address the issue of inter-painting. The frame-shaped paintings not only allow one to 'enframe' (Gestell) another, but also reproduce the history of analogy between architecture and the human body. In this case, Li Qing’s frames of paintings move from backstage to the front - like Giacometti’s plinth - engaging in the scenery of the artwork. The synesthesia and topology between the human body and architecture have infused the scene with dynamics. While the body’s shape appears to be divided, it invokes an image layer in the void, thanks to our perception’s integrity. This image layer coheres the compositions of the two paintings with body image, rendering each other. While eighteenth-century architecture is about pursuing a sublime beauty realized by the reflection of human bodies, Li Qing's pop architectures point to very different aesthetics and spiritual pursuit. The geometric architecture is echoed by the staged body postures revealing the modern myth of the middle class. However, numerous depictions of architecture point to its negation, for these buildings not only symbolize the uncanny myth of modernity but also reflect the unhomely nature of those attracted to it.