Artwork Description

Title:Days on Cloud 2

Artist
Pan Guanqun

Date
2008

Medium:
Oil on canvas

Dimensions
63 x 78 3/4 in (160 x 200 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
In Days on Cloud 2, Pan Guanqun conjures a surreal maritime dreamscape where a dark-sailed ship floats effortlessly through a sea of clouds. The vessel, filled with minute figures, appears to glide just above the luminous whiteness of the cloud bank, heading toward a shadowed horizon under a brooding sky.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Rendered with the precision of classical realism and tinged with the theatricality of surrealism, the painting reflects Pan's signature style: visually poetic, contemplative, and allegorical. The influence of Magritte and early Renaissance painting can be felt in the clarity of form and atmospheric drama. Yet Pan maintains a uniquely Chinese philosophical undercurrent, invoking Taoist ideas of transcendence and illusion.

3. Historical Context
Completed in 2008, this painting is part of Pan’s series that explores imagined journeys and spiritual passages. Emerging in the early 21st-century Chinese art scene, Days on Cloud 2 speaks to a generation of artists navigating new realities, suspended between tradition and globalization.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition, with a taut canvas and no visible issues to the paint surface. Colors remain vibrant and the composition structurally intact, requiring no current restoration.

6. Artistic Significance
Days on Cloud 2 exemplifies Pan Guanqun’s ability to construct metaphysical narratives with refined technique and conceptual depth. The image of a ship sailing clouds becomes a lyrical metaphor for inner journeys, escapism, and collective aspiration—making this work not only a visual delight but a philosophical meditation in oil.