Artwork Description

Title: Flowers
Artist: Mo Xiong
Date: n.d.
Medium: Ink and watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 26.8 x 52.8 in (68 × 134 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
This dynamic composition by Mo Xiong, Title:d Flowers, bursts with vivid brushwork and chromatic vitality. A single bird perches amid a riot of blooming flora, with hot pinks, purples, and aqua tones erupting from the center of the image. The artist utilizes controlled ink linework alongside gestural watercolor splashes, capturing both botanical intricacy and spontaneous life energy.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Mo Xiong bridges classical Chinese bird-and-flower painting with the uninhibited flair of contemporary abstraction. His visual language combines the traditional aesthetics of brush painting with the expressive techniques of Western colorism and action painting. The rhythmic layering of paint and ink creates a tactile field of movement and mood, with the blossoms emerging as both form and atmosphere.

3. Historical Context
As Chinese art entered the global stage in the late 20th century, artists like Mo Xiong pioneered stylistic fusion—preserving indigenous iconography while embracing cosmopolitan influence. Flowers exemplifies this duality, updating an age-old genre with exuberant color play and a contemporary sense of freedom and scale.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The work shows light creasing across the paper, likely from prior storage or handling. These folds are surface-level and do not structurally affect the artwork. The colors remain bold and saturated, and the piece is in very good condition overall.

6. Artistic Significance
Flowers captures the vitality and lyricism central to Mo Xiong’s oeuvre. Through this painterly explosion of flora and fauna, the artist communicates not only natural beauty but also a cross-cultural dialogue between East and West. The painting stands as a vibrant testament to Mo Xiong’s contributions to contemporary Chinese art and his ability to inspire through visual harmony and innovation.