Artwork Description

Title: Slit Landscape III
Artist: Junjie Deng
Date: 2017
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 11.8 x 7.9 in (30 x 20 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Slit Landscape III (2017) by Junjie Deng is a compact yet visually dynamic abstract composition rendered in acrylic on canvas. Featuring an array of angular planes in rich blues, greens, purples, and ochres, the work is punctuated by vertical golden-yellow lines and diagonal geometric accents that lend a rhythmic structure to the composition. The layering of color blocks and the deliberate visual "slits" evoke a fractured geological terrain, captured in vibrant tonal contrasts and a mosaic-like surface.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Deng’s aesthetic language fuses geometric abstraction with a cartographic sensibility, drawing on visual traditions of Constructivism and Abstract Landscape painting. His use of saturated color fields, intersecting planes, and dynamic verticality calls to mind the works of Paul Klee or Richard Diebenkorn, yet remains distinct in its topographical focus. The “slits” serve as both structural and conceptual devices—suggesting ruptures, passages, or strata beneath the surface.

3. Historical Context
Painted in 2017, Slit Landscape III emerges within a broader movement of contemporary Chinese abstraction that engages with ideas of fragmentation, space, and identity. As artists like Deng move away from direct figuration, they explore the metaphoric potential of landscape through abstraction—particularly in response to themes of transformation, memory, and environmental change. This work suggests a psychological or interiorized terrain as much as a physical one.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The painting is in very good condition. The surface of the canvas is clean and stable, with no visible signs of cracking, loss, or restoration. The colors remain vivid and well-preserved, and the edges of the canvas are sharp and intact. Ready for framing or display.

6. Artistic Significance
Junjie Deng’s Slit Landscape series reflects a refined mastery of abstract formalism infused with spatial poetics. Despite its intimate scale, Slit Landscape III offers a powerful visual experience that invites sustained engagement. The painting exemplifies Deng’s ability to distill emotional and environmental complexity into highly structured yet expressive forms. It is a compelling addition to any contemporary collection that values innovation in abstract painting and the evolution of landscape representation in 21st-century Chinese art.