{"id":922196,"date":"2026-10-09T19:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T19:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922196\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T19:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T19:36:17","slug":"symmetry-meets-the-sacred-in-shuling-guos-dreamy-diffused-paintings-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922196\/","title":{"rendered":"Symmetry Meets the Sacred in Shuling Guo’s Dreamy, Diffused Paintings \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI left my hometown\u00a0\/ My hometown appears,\u201d begins a poem by artist Shuling Guo<\/a> titled \u201cTemple II,\u201d which shares its name with her forthcoming solo exhibition at Hollis Taggart<\/a>. Drawing on sacred symbolism and nature, Guo delves into her memories of growing up in Chaoshan, Guangdong Province, China, and the area\u2019s unique mixture of spiritual and folk traditions. Her dreamlike, symmetrical works speak to the harmony of the cosmos as much as they nod to the balance of life and the sublime.<\/p>\n

Guo\u2019s paintings in Temple II explore memory, presence, and loss, and their creation coincided with both the birth of her daughter and the death of her grandmother. Burgeoning blossoms, delicate flames, and glowing ribbon-like tendrils allude to the transience of life, its beauty, and its fragility.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cPurple Glow\u201d (2026), oil and colored pencil on linen over panel, 20 x 16 inches<\/p>\n

The artist views the body as a temple, including the mind, which links one\u2019s physical experience to the psychological and emotional. Guo is influenced by her earliest interactions with ceremony and ritual in Guangdong Province, where locals practice Daoist and Buddhist traditions alongside folk customs. \u201cGuo made frequent visits to her village temple, where local wood carving, murals, and sculpture became part of her visual memory,\u201d the gallery says.<\/p>\n

Religious imagery, especially from the Early Renaissance, informs Guo\u2019s compositions, especially with the addition of arch-like features within which flowers droop or birds perch. The combination of oil paint and colored pencil creates diffused, otherworldly forms that also evoke the effervescent spiritualist paintings of Agnes Pelton<\/a>, and orchids and other flowers suggest sensuality and human anatomy not unlike Georgia O\u2019Keeffe<\/a>. In Guo\u2019s works, \u201cthese different visual traditions converge as a way of exploring devotion and ritual,\u201d the gallery says.<\/p>\n

Temple II opens on October 15 and continues through December 5 in New York. The show will also feature the artist\u2019s first mural, which transforms the gallery into an immersive, meditative space. See more of the artist\u2019s work on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Side view of \u201cPortrait X\u201d (2026), oil and colored pencil on linen over panel, 12 x 12 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cPortrait X\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cPortrait IX\u201d (2026), oil and colored pencil on linen over panel, 24 x 12 inches<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cTune Is in the Tree II\u201d (2026), oil and colored pencil on linen over panel, 30 x 24 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cTune Is in the Tree II\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cPortrait VIII\u201d (2026), oil and colored pencil on linen over panel, 24 x 12 inches<\/p>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n

Hide advertising<\/p>\n

Save your favorite articles<\/p>\n

Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop<\/a><\/p>\n

Receive members-only newsletter<\/p>\n

Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/p>\n

\t