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M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation, © Wang Guangle
Wang Guangle 王光樂
Coffin Paint 070329 壽漆 070329
2007
This acrylic painting features thin, wavy lines of paint applied horizontally to the canvas, resembling television static or wood grain. The thick layers of red and white paint add a sculptural dimension to the work, which is enhanced by the accumulated paint on the canvas’s sides. The painting is from Wang Guangle’s Coffin Paint series from 2006. It was inspired by burial traditions in the artist’s home town in Fujian Province, where the elderly prepare their coffins by painting them every year to slow the corrosion of the wood. Wang translates his interest in this ritual of preparation and acceptance of mortality into a painting technique that explores temporality and repetition. He applies a few layers of paint daily—each layer represents a moment in time. The titles of the works in the Coffin Paint series indicate the year, month, and day of their completion. Wang extends these ideas of time and progression in a later series, Untitled, which consists of large-scale paintings with layers of rectangles, creating an illusion of depth.
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