Artwork Description

Title: Flowers and Birds
Artist: Mo Xiong
Date: n.d.
Medium: Ink and watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 37.8 x 70.5 in (96 × 179 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
In this luminous composition, Flowers and Birds by Mo Xiong evokes a dreamlike floral expanse, populated by lotus blooms and hovering birds. Richly textured layers of deep blues and greens surge across the paper, punctuated by vivid crimson petals and golden halos of light. Three birds, rendered in delicate detail, animate the dense vegetation, suggesting a moment of serene vitality.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Mo Xiong employs a painterly language rooted in traditional Chinese bird-and-flower painting, but invigorates it with Western color theory and gestural abstraction. The wet-on-wet diffusion of watercolor, paired with calligraphic ink outlines, reveals an artist fluent in both the technical discipline of Chinese painting and the expressive spontaneity of modernism. The glowing effect of the background imbues the scene with a sacred, almost theatrical presence.

3. Historical Context
Mo Xiong’s work emerges from a post-reform era in China when artists began to experiment with integrating global visual vocabularies. This painting is emblematic of that synthesis: honoring native traditions while embracing bold, contemporary visual strategies. The subject matter—flowers and birds—is steeped in Chinese symbolic meaning, often denoting harmony, virtue, and auspiciousness.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. The surface is stable, and the pigments retain their vibrancy. No visible creasing or discoloration is present, suggesting careful handling and preservation.

6. Artistic Significance
Flowers and Birds represents the height of Mo Xiong’s ability to orchestrate chromatic drama with lyrical composition. This piece stands out not only for its scale but for the emotive interplay between nature and imagination. Through his masterful fusion of Chinese aesthetics and Western expressionist impulses, Mo Xiong redefines the visual language of tradition, offering a captivating testament to cultural continuity and artistic evolution.