Wang Keping Femme, 2006 Acacia 116 x 40 x 35 cm 45 5/8 x 15 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches Wang Keping burst onto the Chinese art scene in the late 1970s as a founding member of the Beijing avant-garde group The Stars (Xing Xing). Wang works almost exclusively in a single medium: wood. The figures and abstract forms in his sculptures seem to emerge organically out of the wood’s grain, knots and flaws. To prepare the wood for his sculptures, Wang will let logs sit for months, sometimes years, to allow the innate features of the material to grow and deepen until they take on their own distinctive, biologically-determined shapes. Beginning the carving process while the wood is still fresh and moist, Wang encourages cracks to form which eventually dry to form details such as facial features, clenched fists and folds of skin. He strives towards simplicity, creating monumental symbols of human nature and sensuality.
