Artwork Description

Title: Interstellar Extinction Part IV
Artist: Zhao Xu
Date: 2017
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 47.2 x 59.1 in (120 x 150 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Interstellar Extinction Part IV is a large-scale oil painting by Zhao Xu that immerses the viewer in a cosmic and geological abstraction. With swirling textures and dynamic layering, the painting evokes a sense of vastness and transformation, suggesting an apocalyptic vision of the universe or a planetary phenomenon beyond human comprehension.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Zhao Xu’s approach is grounded in abstract expressionism, combining impasto techniques with a richly modulated color palette. The interplay of deep blues, emeralds, and ash-like greys suggests interstellar debris or distant galactic terrains. The composition flows with organic energy, resonating with themes of cosmic decay, metamorphosis, and natural violence. His use of texture is particularly striking, blurring the line between painting and relief sculpture.

3. Historical Context
Completed in 2017, this painting is part of Zhao Xu’s larger Interstellar Extinction series, a body of work that confronts humanity’s fragile position within the cosmos. Created during a decade of rising interest in ecological and existential themes within contemporary Chinese art, the series reflects a broader cultural engagement with science, mythology, and the unknown.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. The canvas is structurally sound, and the textured oil surface shows no signs of cracking, flaking, or discoloration. The painting has been carefully preserved and stored in a stable environment.

6. Artistic Significance
Zhao Xu's Interstellar Extinction Part IV stands as a powerful meditation on entropy and impermanence. With its sweeping textures and otherworldly atmosphere, it exemplifies the artist’s ability to bridge scientific imagination with painterly materiality. The work offers collectors and institutions a vivid example of contemporary Chinese abstraction that transcends national and planetary boundaries, inviting existential reflection.