Artwork Description

Title: Streams and Mountains Are Clear and Far Away
Artist: Huijun Gao
Date: 2014
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 70 x 140 cm (27.6 x 55.1 in)

1. Artwork Identification
This horizontal composition by Huijun Gao captures a tranquil vision of mountains shrouded in mist and a cluster of trees quietly rooted on a riverbank. Streams and Mountains Are Clear and Far Away evokes a sense of deep serenity and solitude, invoking the age-old Chinese poetic tradition of merging landscape with the inner self. With nuanced attention to atmosphere and texture, the artist offers a contemplative space beyond temporality.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Gao draws on traditional shan shui (mountain-water) painting conventions, yet reinvents them with acrylics, rendering delicate tonal gradients and softened silhouettes that evoke mist, reflection, and spatial ambiguity. His use of earth tones and layered glazes recalls Song dynasty scrolls, while the stylized foliage and rhythmic terrain offer a subtle departure into personal abstraction. Gao’s modern sensibility lies in his restraint, turning absence and space into emotional presence.

3. Historical Context
Painted in 2014, this work exemplifies Gao’s mature style, which resists overt narrative or political discourse. Instead, he invites viewers into a state of introspective stillness, reminiscent of Tang and Song literati ideals. The composition echoes classical travel scenes or poetic retreats, where clarity of mind mirrors clarity of nature.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. Surface, pigment, and support structure are stable, with no signs of damage or restoration.

6. Artistic Significance
Streams and Mountains Are Clear and Far Away is a meditative exemplar of Gao Huijun’s enduring commitment to landscape as a vessel for inner emotion. The Title: itself suggests both physical and psychological distance—a longing or appreciation from afar. Through the language of rocks, water, trees, and mist, Gao extends a timeless invitation to pause, reflect, and return inward. This painting stands as a luminous testament to his refined voice in contemporary Chinese art.