Artwork Description

Title: Listening to Cloud Graphs
Artist: Huijun Gao
Date: 2013
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 210 x 100 cm (82.7 x 39.4 in)

1. Artwork Identification
Listening to Cloud Graphs is a tall vertical acrylic painting by Huijun Gao, depicting a solitary bird standing by water near a fantastically contorted rock formation. Above it, towering Taihu-style rocks and ghostly barren trees stretch into a sky filled with soft, layered clouds tinged in pink and violet. The scene evokes a surreal silence and philosophical reflection, characteristic of Gao’s contemplative practice.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
The composition channels classical Chinese literati aesthetics, blending elements like Taihu rocks, still waters, and symbolic birds with a contemporary surrealism. Gao’s controlled brushwork and muted palette evoke the quietude of Song dynasty landscapes, while the flattened depth and delicate tonal shifts demonstrate his mastery in adapting ink traditions into the acrylic medium. The vertical format reinforces the introspective mood, emphasizing vertical ascension—both visual and spiritual.

3. Historical Context
Completed in 2013, the painting continues Gao’s consistent dialogue with nature as a mirror of emotional and philosophical introspection. His work often resists narrative, and here, the minimalist components suggest not a scene, but a state of listening—listening not to sound, but to silence, to atmosphere, to clouds. This echoes ancient Daoist ideals and poetic notions of harmonizing with the void.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. Surface, color integrity, and structure are all stable with no visible signs of damage or conservation work.

6. Artistic Significance
Listening to Cloud Graphs exemplifies Huijun Gao’s gift for quiet visual poetry. By isolating symbols of nature—bird, rock, tree, and cloud—he constructs a dreamlike, meditative landscape where time is suspended. It is a painting that invites stillness and introspection, offering viewers not an explanation, but a space to contemplate. Gao’s sensitivity to traditional forms and modern emotional resonance makes this piece a significant example of his contribution to contemporary Chinese landscape painting.