5+1 Gallery is holding Yang Wenxing's solo exhibition in Guangzhou, featuring a series of new paintings by the artist. The exhibition will run until April 13.

Social landscape is an interesting metaphor, the "world" is becoming simpler, the standard is clear and there is a single quantification. Our current life eliminates thinking, simplifies "life", finds "answers", seeks the so-called "certainty", and breaks away from the so-called "bondage". In this sense of weightlessness, the artist captures the silent "state" under the natural landscape, and reflects his thoughts on humanity, life and ideals with the help of water, moon, stream, colored stone and other landscapes with delicate and simple emotions. At the same time, by paying attention to the repeated status quo of ordinary landscapes, he raises questions from the perspectives of practice and experience, constraint and break away, examination and reflection, etc., extending his exploration of life outside the landscape. Under the silent landscape, it is the hope and expectation of the artist's ideal freedom.

One of the works in the exhibition, Trunk and Its Shadow at Night, depicts the early hours of the morning in a rural landscape. A tree, stream, colorful stones, and the surrounding weeds are arranged by a beam of light, artificially creating a scenic setup. The reflection in the stream contrasts with the main objects, creating a contradictory tension. This piece conveys an experience of being within nature and becoming one with it, reflecting thoughts on constraint and release, examination and reflection.

The exhibition also features a piece titled Passage Through the Woods, which depicts a cement road forcibly carved through an otherwise pristine natural forest. This road disrupts the natural landscape of the forest, creating a new constructed scenery. At the end of the cement road, there is a beam of light, seemingly guiding the way toward the light, opening up a new paradise.

The Uncontrollable Smoke depicts trees and other vegetation by the stream, their reflections surrounded by the fading light of the sunset. The vibrant-colored stones are captured in a quiet moment within the slowly flowing stream. However, the cigarette in the hand of a sitting figure drifts unpredictably, symbolizing an instability in life. The light, smoke, and shadows in the scene come together to metaphorically convey a sense of life's instability—attempting to control its direction, yet being unable to do so. This work explores the Elusive relationship between humans and nature, as well as the relationship between individuals and themselves.

The Stone Emerging from the Water, quietly placed in the corner, conveys an inner dialogue between humans and nature, as well as between individuals and themselves, reflecting self-awareness and silence.

In his early works, Wenxing was influenced by Tuymans, which prompted him to explore the theme of “existential crisis.” However, in response to the crisis of modernity, Wenxing offers a flexible reply through natural landscapes, imbued with poetry and metaphor. Behind this lies an intuitive sense beyond mere reflection, showingcasing an underlying, indelible connection that cannot be fully severed. This may be a reflection on and response to contemporary lifestyles, seeking inner peace amid complexity and fluidity.