Artwork Description

Title: Ship Impression – 03
Artist: Qi Guang
Date: n.d.
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 39.4 x 39.4 in (100 x 100 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Ship Impression – 03 is a richly layered abstract acrylic painting by Qi Guang, measuring 100 x 100 cm. Composed in a vivid, atmospheric palette of crimson, green, ochre, and deep indigo, the work evokes a veiled maritime scene rendered through gauzy washes and expressive overpainting. Suggestive forms and rhythmic verticals allude to masts, hulls, and reflections, dissolving into an immersive tapestry of color and gesture.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Qi Guang’s practice aligns with the expressive abstraction of the postmodern period, merging atmospheric color fields with impressionistic references to landscape and marine life. The artist employs techniques of color bleeding and tonal layering to obscure and reveal form, creating a dreamlike interplay between surface and depth. Echoes of Zao Wou-Ki’s lyrical abstraction and Mark Rothko’s emotive colorism can be felt in the painting’s mood and modulation.

3. Historical Context
Although undated, Ship Impression – 03 situates itself in the ongoing dialogue between Eastern and Western traditions of abstraction. As contemporary Chinese artists have increasingly explored gestural and color-based abstraction to engage with memory, perception, and place, Qi Guang’s work reflects a deeply personal engagement with the ephemeral. The blurred references to ship forms may symbolize transition, migration, or inner voyage, set within the wider context of post-industrial transformation.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The work is in very good condition. The surface is stable, with no visible signs of cracking, fading, or restoration. The pigment layers maintain strong tonal integrity, and the canvas edges are clean and taut. Suitable for immediate display or framing.

6. Artistic Significance
Ship Impression – 03 represents Qi Guang’s nuanced ability to balance abstraction with atmospheric suggestion. The work’s painterly richness and emotional resonance make it a standout piece within contemporary Chinese abstract painting. Its meditative quality and allusion to maritime forms offer viewers a space of contemplation and wonder, marking it as a valuable and poetic addition to any discerning collection of abstract or East Asian contemporary art.