Welcome to the house of signs: impression on Jiaqi Li's solo exhibition

Description

In late June 2024, Shanghai had settled into the plum rain season — damp and muggy, with rain falling on and off without letup. Pedestrians on the streets scurried for shelter, while I, like a single raindrop bearing a faint flicker of anticipation, arrived at the doorstep of Studio Gallery.

 

Stepping into the gallery’s signature mirrored corridor, awash in mint tones that reflected cool, verdant greenery, I suddenly felt my spirits lift and refresh. I pushed the door softly and entered the exhibition space, only to have my gaze abruptly seized by a sharp sense of visual provocation: highly saturated Roman columns stood facing arched doorways, creating a vivid, intense collision of pink and green. The evenly spaced columns, with gaps running between them, worked alongside the arches to fragment the viewer’s field of vision. Behind these somewhat kitsch architectural elements, paintings hung in sequence. The heavy, sticky lethargy I had carried in the damp, sultry air jolted awake all at once — most of all when I walked through the Roman columns and stood before the artwork AMBULANCIAGA.

 

2024年6月下旬的上海，入梅、潮湿、雨间歇不止。路上行人都在寻找停驻之地，而我像一滴雨珠，揣着隐约的期待，来到工作室画廊（Studio Gallery）的门外。

 

踏入画廊标志性的镜面长廊，映着清凉绿意的薄荷色，突然发觉我的心境舒爽起来。我轻轻推门，进入展厅，视觉却猛然被一种“挑衅”拉扯住：高饱和色的罗马柱和拱形门相对，粉色与绿色激烈的对撞，均匀排布出空隙的立柱，又和拱门一起割裂着观展的视野。而一幅幅画作，正悬挂在这些略显“刻奇”（Kitsch）的建筑构件的后方。先前被黏在湿闷空气中的感觉一瞬间被激活了起来，尤其当我穿过罗马柱，站在作品《AMBULANCIAGA》前时。