July 01 (18 x 24 inches)
Product Details
Artist: Long Gao
July 01 (18 x 24 inches)
Edition of 8
3mm Acrylic Facemount
18 x 24 inches
July 25, 2020
Flowers: White Stargazer Lily, French Rose, Blue Hydrangea, Scottish Bluebells, Pink Rose
About the Artist
Long Gao is a Chinese Canadian artist currently based in Vancouver, Canada. He was born in Beijing, raised in British Columbia, and educated in Toronto where he graduated from OCAD University in 2014. In 2017, he completed two artist residencies in Spain, one in Barcelona and the other in a national park in the Andalusia Region. In 2019, he took part in a 3-month artist residency program in Berlin, where he lived and worked for 6 months before returning to Vancouver. Gao has held public exhibitions in Toronto, Barcelona, Berlin, and Vancouver as well as a virtual exhibition in 2020 during the pandemic.
Artist Statement
Beauty surrounds us but often goes unnoticed. To experience beauty in its true form is a relief from the burden of human existence, a source of inspiration, and a hope for a brighter future. Distillations is a series that attempts to capture the essence of what is universally considered beautiful. The resulting image is meant to trigger the part of your brain responsible for feelings of joy, happiness, and connection to the universe.
As our brains evolved, the simple experience of recognizing beauty was the spark that awakened the creativity latent within the human soul. Perhaps the first things we recognized as beautiful were flowers. Each piece is made from fresh flowers that are collected, taken apart, and pinned in dense clusters to create an abstract composition of pure colour.
Beauty creates in us all a place where our understanding of the world transcends language, culture, and personal identity. It is to this place that I aim to bring you.