Artwork Description

Title: Vase
Artist: Mo Xiong
Date: n.d.
Medium: Ink and watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 15 x 53.5 in (38 x 136 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Vase by Mo Xiong is a luminous and celebratory ink and watercolor painting, rendered on paper in an expansive horizontal format. Dominated by a vivid palette of purples, oranges, and ochres, the scene bursts with wild floral energy, surrounding a white bird poised among radiant blooms. Mo’s confident brushwork and gestural ink lines conjure both floral texture and atmospheric depth, while the composition retains a dynamic sense of harmony, as if captured in a single breath.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
As in much of Mo Xiong’s work, Vase demonstrates a masterful blend of Eastern brush traditions with Western color sensibilities. While rooted in xieyi (freehand brush painting), this work adopts an almost abstract expressionist rhythm in its layering of splashes and stains. The bouquet appears almost untethered from physical containment—suggesting the "vase" exists more metaphorically—embodying a conceptual fusion of nature’s exuberance and the artist’s inner vitality.

3. Historical Context
Mo Xiong emerged as an important figure in the post-Cultural Revolution generation of artists who sought to reassert traditional aesthetics while embracing modern expression. Born in 1960 and trained at Nanjing University of the Arts, where he would later teach, Mo has remained a defining voice in Jiangsu’s artistic landscape. Works like Vase reflect his unique synthesis of literati painting lineage and global modernism, situated in a period of cross-cultural renewal and flourishing artistic experimentation in late 20th-century China.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. The pigments are vibrant and stable, with no noticeable paper warping or water staining. Minor handling creases may be visible only under raking light and do not detract from the visual impact of the piece. It is recommended that the work be professionally framed under UV-protective glazing to preserve the color intensity.

6. Artistic Significance
Vase exemplifies Mo Xiong’s characteristic interplay of spontaneity and control, tradition and innovation. A member of the China Artists Association and a decorated academic figure, Mo’s practice bridges fine art, education, and national cultural development. This painting captures both the immediacy of emotional gesture and the refinement of compositional discipline. As a standalone work or part of a broader collection, Vase resonates as a radiant emblem of contemporary Chinese painting’s poetic modernity.