Artwork Description

Title: Flowers and Birds – Four Screen
Artist: Mo Xiong
Date: n.d.
Medium: Ink and watercolor on paper
Dimensions: Each panel 54.3 x 13.4 in (138 x 34 cm); 4 panels total

1. Artwork Identification
This captivating four-panel work by Mo Xiong, Title:d Flowers and Birds – Four Screen, presents a continuous yet rhythmically segmented composition executed in ink and watercolor on paper. Each vertical scroll features a lively scene of birds amid richly layered flora, rendered in fluid brushwork and a luminous color palette. Vivid blossoms, dynamic rock formations, and poised avian figures create a harmonious dialogue between nature and movement, each scroll offering a distinct yet interconnected visual vignette.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Mo Xiong’s four-panel ensemble reflects the artist’s seamless confluence of Chinese literati painting and Western color theory. Rooted in the traditions of bird-and-flower (花鸟画) painting, his brushwork remains expressive and gestural, yet modernized through bold chromatic accents and compositional spontaneity. The panels echo the visual rhythms of traditional Chinese folding screens while incorporating contemporary sensibilities in the rendering of form and pigment. The influence of Song and Ming dynasty aesthetics is apparent, yet filtered through Mo Xiong’s distinctive personal lexicon.

3. Historical Context
As a product of the post-1980s resurgence in Chinese visual arts, Flowers and Birds – Four Screen belongs to a broader cultural movement in which artists sought to reclaim and reinterpret classical idioms within a contemporary framework. Trained at the Nanjing University of the Arts, Mo Xiong emerged during an era of reinvigorated artistic identity, fusing historical lineage with the exploratory spirit of modern Chinese painting. This work stands as both homage and innovation, aligning with China’s enduring reverence for nature while embracing dynamic reinterpretation.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The set is in very good condition overall. Each panel retains structural integrity, with stable paper surfaces and no evidence of tears, creasing, or discoloration. The ink and watercolor pigments remain vivid. No restoration or conservation treatment is required at this time.

6. Artistic Significance
Flowers and Birds – Four Screen exemplifies Mo Xiong’s capacity to revitalize classical Chinese subjects through his mastery of painterly nuance and compositional innovation. A member of the China Artists Association and a Distinguished Teacher at Nanjing University of the Arts, Mo Xiong has contributed significantly to the evolution of Chinese contemporary painting. This four-part series invites viewers into a refined, lyrical world where tradition and modernity coexist, offering collectors a compelling and culturally resonant work of exceptional elegance and scope.