Artist emerges from seclusion after abstract explorationthe

Four Seasons, 2013-2014, by Xu Dongdong. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Four Seasons

"Put heart in the universe", Xu says. Since the autumn of 2013, he started to create a series of paintings themed on the four seasons.

"Spring symbolizes the beginning of life, and it has good and evil aspects, which is also applicable to all things on earth. All of these ideas are shown in my paintings", Xu said.

During the creation of his "winter" series, Xu put his half-finished painting in a snowfield and let the snow fall on it. Several days later, when he took back the painting, he was delighted to see a piece he had created with nature.

He also likes mixing rain water or snow water with his pigments to add more "nature" color to his pieces.

"Painting is my soul. I paint with snow in the winter, rain in the summer, sand wind in the autumn and dew in the spring", Xu said, "This way, I can deeply feel the changes of the four seasons and sense the throbbing of the soul in the universe."

The four seasons, in Xu's paintings, not only reflect changes in natural scenery, but also reflect the balance and harmony between humans and nature, even the universe.

"The four seasons I paint, are actually the souls evolving in the cosmos", Xu said. "We can't see souls, but we can feel them through the changes."