Universally known as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000, Gao Xingjian is also an artist whose work is exhibited all over the world. Born in China in 1940, he was introduced to the arts as a boy by his mother who was an actress. He worked as a translator while painting and writing, becoming well-known in Beijing for his avant-garde plays. During the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to a re-education camp for the radical views expressed in his theatre. After the events of Tiananmen Square, he left China for France. Today he lives in Paris and works as a painter, critic, playwright and opera librettist. His best-selling novels are Soul Mountain (1995) and One Man's Bible (2000). Aesthetics and Creation , his main work on art and literary creativity, was published in English in 2012. This stunning book showcases for the first time two decades of Gao Xingjian's oeuvre. In his brilliant and instructive text, Daniel Bergez demonstrates how Chinese Daoism, the Chinese literati painting tradition, Western minimalism and Modernism find echoes in Gao Xingjian's masterful ink-wash paintings. Drawing from Soul Mountain and interviews with the artist, Bergez offers telling insights into these stunning enigmatic paintings, guiding viewers to form their own interpretation of the works.
Universally known as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000 for his novel "Soul Mountain," Gao Xingjian is also an artist whose paintings are exhibited worldwide. Born in China in 1940, the multitalented Gao also excels as a critic, playwright and filmmaker. After his avant-garde plays were banned, he left China in 1987 and settled in France. Today he lives in Paris where he continues to paint and make films. This stunning book showcases for the first time over two decades of Gao Xingjian s oeuvre. Inspired by a dream-like inner-world, Daoism, the Chinese "literati "painting tradition and Western Modernism inform Gao Xingjian s masterful ink-wash paintings. His groundbreaking technique allows him to work with ink, the traditional Chinese medium, on large canvases. A champion of a return to painting, he remains as free from the diktats of the contemporary art market as he did from Communist censorship. Drawing from "Soul Mountain" and other literary works, author Daniel Bergez offers telling insights into Gao s enigmatic landscapes and figures while Sherry Buchanan s interview with the artist reveals the motivation and drive behind the artist s unique pictorial creation."
