Silent Echo

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Exhibition Period: April 6, 2023 – May 6, 2023

Address: Chan Art Museum, No.258 Changjiang Road, Baoshan District, Shanghai, China

Sun Yao’ solo exhibition, “Silent Echo,” was presented at the Chan Art Museum from April 6 to May 6, 2023. Co-organized by the Chan Art Museum and Pusu Art, the exhibition was curated by Mr. Chen Yanfei, an artist and founder of Pusu Art.

The exhibition features over 30 artworks, including Sun’s newly created series “Inner Universe,” recent works from the “Eternal Flame” series, as well as pieces from “Skyline,” “Neverland,” “Neverland - Landscape,” “To The Stars,” and “Deep Forest” series.

Preface

In early 2022, as the sever COVID-19 pandemic gripped Shanghai, Sun retreated to his studio, dedicating himself to creating art every day. Though artists often detach themselves from everyday life, the circumstances and oppressive environment inevitably left their mark on him, as reflected in his artworks. Some pieces burst forth with vibrant colors, like the bright cherry blossoms of spring, expressing hope and vitality, while others delve into more profound and complex themes, conveying a sense of transcendence.

As one gazes upon Sun’s artworks, they are often drawn to the dynamic movement within the paintings, which many describe as whirlwinds, rivers, lightning, tsunamis, quantum, or even distant starry skies — all of which are in a constant state of flux and unpredictability. The ebb and flow, grandeur and subtlety, movement and stillness, turbulence and serenity, abstraction and concreteness, partial and whole, all coexist and emerge simultaneously. As Li He’s poem “Dream of Heaven” so eloquently puts it, “Gazing down upon the three sacred mountains, beneath lies the vast and endless blue. A world of ceaseless change, where seas and lands entwine. A thousand years of transformation, fleeting like a galloping steed.” Sun’s artworks aim to evoke a sense of timelessness and boundlessness in the viewer.

The hidden passion and burning inner flame, when confronted with the vast and incomprehensible, can only be immersed in and experienced, stirring up contradictions, curiosity, admiration, and even fear. As we gaze upon and feel the artworks, we gradually lose our individual subjectivity, entering a state of being swept away and mesmerized. The intense visual experience awakens deep memories, such as moments of joy, crashes, terror, and loss — akin to a spiritual awakening.

This theme is undoubtedly classical, focusing not on individual or generational spirituality, but on a more ancient and universal proposition: conversing with the universe’s breath. As Augustine wrote in his “Confessions,” “ Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.” Only by starting from within can we find this dialogue and connection, which most people have already closed off. The artist’s role is to reveal this.

The realm that Sun has entered is a spiritual landscape of grand mountains, waves, currents, and stars, governed by a powerful rational force that prevents them from becoming chaotic or falling into clichéd praise, instead fixing them in the painting.

The artworks’ purity, the countless details of light and shadow, are dense signals and waves that emerge from the painting, drawing the viewer into the space-time that the artist intends to establish. Within this space-time, there is always a detached observer’s gaze, overlooking all, no matter how vibrant, ultimately a silent and desolate landscape, no matter how turbulent, always soundless and voiceless.

The interplay of contradictions and coldness within this is Sun’s poetic essence.

By Dong Lai.