2016
2023
2022
利比亚西比尔 Libyan Sibyl
米开朗基罗 Michelangelo
壁画 Fresco
梵蒂冈西斯廷礼拜堂 The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
395 x 380cm
但丁和维吉尔共渡冥河 Dante and Virgil in the Underworld
德拉克洛瓦 Eugene Delacroix
布面油画 Oil on Canvas
藏于法国巴黎卢浮宫 Louvre, Paris, France
189 x 241.5 cm
人体形态作为艺术表达的核心语言，承载了从古希腊对比例之美的追求，中世纪人们在宗教中寻求救赎，到文艺复兴对结构的科学探索，再到现代主义对形体的解构与重组的深刻转变。从罗丹的粗粝雕塑到贾科梅蒂纤瘦形体中的孤独感，人体形态的研究逐渐超越单纯的形式，成为探讨人类情感与哲学的媒介。这一传统在米开朗基罗晚年的《隆达尼尼哀悼基督像》（Pietà Rondanini）中达到了新的深度。
这座未完成的雕塑展现了米开朗基罗在暮年对宗教信仰与人性本质的深刻思考，与他雕塑中常出现的健壮有力的形象相比，这件作品中的耶稣极度瘦削、纤弱，伏在圣母的怀抱中，呈现出一种即将消逝的空灵感。未完成的粗粝感让雕塑保留了思想生成的开放性，使得耶稣的形象不再仅仅是受难的象征。这种“未完成性”恰恰超越了宗教的叙事框架，转向一种更为普遍的人类经验的表达：面对生命脆弱与不可知性的深切感知。
隆达尼尼哀悼基督像 Pietà Rondanini
米开朗基罗 Michelangelo
石材 Stone
米兰 斯福尔扎城堡 Castello Sforzesco, Milan
195cm
再如深受萨特和存在主义哲学影响的阿尔贝托·贾科梅蒂的雕塑《行走的人》（L’Homme qui marche），传达了一种强烈的孤独感和存在主义的思考。这些雕塑人物形态削瘦，似乎在巨大的空间中显得脆弱无比，但却充满张力。这种视觉冲击力挑战了传统雕塑对人体比例和重量感的定义，还将人类在现代社会中的孤立和挣扎具象化。贾科梅蒂简化形式，把焦点放在生命的本质上，让观众感受到人与世界之间的疏离感。雕塑中每一根细长的线条都在叙述人类存在的艰难与荒诞。这些雕像既静止又动态，每一件作品都在发出“人在世界中的位置究竟如何”的生命之问。
1947，1948，1960
路航从他们的作品中汲取了深厚的灵感，但他的转译是通过抽象与重构赋予这些形象以新的当代意义。从《机会主义者》（Opportunist）（2016）到《红色躯干》（Red Torso）（2022）再到《舞蹈》（2023）中，我们能清晰的察觉到“瘦削之人”这个形象的发展。那些形体显然延续了这种“削弱化”的形式处理，但在精神指向上却发生了根本性的变化。他试图通过红色瘦削的形象更多地从物理上的脆弱，转向个体在当代社会中精神与人性的脆弱。在当代的困境中，身体的不完整性与精神的迷失成为他作品的核心隐喻。
2016
尤其是在《红色躯干》中，削瘦的红色身体既像一个有血有肉的生物，又仿佛是一种漂浮的符号。艺术家通过反复覆盖与调整笔触，让形体边界在清晰与模糊之间游移，赋予了形象一种不确定的存在感。这种不确定性与《隆达尼尼哀悼基督像》中未完成的粗粝感形成微妙的呼应，同时也体现出路航在创作意识上的不同立场，他似乎并未试图用瘦削传递一种救世的力量，而是将这种形态变成个体对社会、历史和自我关系的追问。这种处理方式令我们依稀看到他作品形象对经典的致敬，以及对经典精神的重新激活与延展。
这种再转译的特质还可以在路航的“头部缺失”形象中进一步看到。在《碗》（Bowl）系列中，人物形体因失去头部而显得异常脆弱，但同时又具有某种不可忽视的力量。他将这一形象置于历史与文化的双重语境中：一方面，他从中国传统神话中汲取灵感，例如刑天（源自《山海经》）作为“无头之战士”的象征，表现出不屈与抗争的精神；另一方面，他又从乔治·巴塔耶的《无头人》的理念中得到启发，并通过形式的简化与符号化，模糊了文化的具体性，使这些形象成为对人类普遍状态的抽象表达。头部的缺失既是身份的消解，也是对主体性重塑的暗示。
2024
In artistic language, the gestures of the human body serve as an ancient yet vibrant form of expression. From the running hunters in prehistoric cave paintings, the devout prayers of saints in Renaissance religious works, the dramatic physicality of Baroque art, the graceful lines of Rococo, the exaggerated distortions of Modernism, to the conceptual expressions in contemporary performance art using the body as a medium—gestures have always permeated artistic practice with their inherent ambiguity and complexity, forming a cornerstone of visual language.
As one of the most instinctive forms of artistic expression and the deepest of metaphors, gestures are recontextualized within a contemporary framework in Lu Hang’s paintings. Through his sustained exploration of postures such as kneeling, crouching, crawling, climbing, jumping, and leaping, he constructs a unique visual narrative, a system that persistently questions the essence of human existence and the boundaries of visual language.
The Gesture: A Dynamic Language and the Writing of Painting
LU Hang’s exploration of gestures is neither abrupt nor isolated; rather, it is a dynamic, evolving process. From his early depictions of low postures to his recent focus on the theme of ascending, his works reveal the multidimensionality and evolution of gestural language. This evolution uses bodily movement as its vehicle, delving into a dual exploration of pictorial form and conceptual depth.
In his early works, such as In the Basement (2016) and Opportunist (2016), the acts of crouching and crawling occupy the center of the composition. These lowly postures, coupled with tightly packed compositions, create a strong sense of spatial oppression. The bodies, seemingly tethered or suppressed by some invisible force, formally echo the emphasis on emaciated figures in the works of masters like Michelangelo and Goya. However, in LU Hang’s reimagined visual context, these figures transcend religious or historical narratives of suffering, becoming universal symbols of human fragility and resistance.
As his work progresses, LU Hang experiments with extending movement and transforming gestures to explore the relationship between the body and space. In the Gymnastics (2023) series, the figures move beyond lowly postures, using stretching and climbing movements to create a sense of dynamic continuity within the composition. The extended bodies and hands raised high, seemingly searching for anchorage, might symbolize “struggle” or “submission,” but they also suggest an approach to the unknown, a search for balance, and a latent, ambiguous sense of direction. This sense of direction is accentuated by LU’s handling of lines—fluid lines intersect with fragmented brushstrokes, creating a contradictory yet unified visual rhythm that articulates the ambivalence and uncertainty of action.
In his more recent works, represented by the Dance (2023) series, gestural language is further liberated. The images of jumping and leaping figures transition from representational human forms to pure expressions of movement. In my view, this expression is not merely a superficial visual breakthrough or release but embodies an exploration of balance and suspense. The figures’ gestures are pushed to extremes, as their bodies seem poised to either fall or ascend at any moment, generating a tension that remains unresolved. This state does not provide a definitive answer but instead leaves the answers blowing in the wind.
LU Hang consistently emphasizes that painting is a form of “writing” rather than mere creation, and this approach is deeply reflected in his exploration of gestural language. Brushstrokes in his works serve not only as tools for shaping forms but also as traces that record the evolution of gestures. For instance, in Red Torso (2022), he constructs a sense of dynamic thickness by repeatedly layering and adjusting his brushstrokes. The emaciated red figure appears not so much painted as “grown” through successive acts of writing. This obsession with brushstrokes and dynamics gradually detaches his gestural language from representational depiction, transforming it into an open artistic form.
In art history, the exploration of gestures as a system has been a recurring theme. From Michelangelo’s dramatic expressions of the human body in the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Delacroix’s narrative construction of group gestures in Romanticism, and Degas’ continuous studies of dancers’ postures, gestures have always been vital tools for artists to express human emotions, psychological states, and social relationships. For these masters, the study of gestures never stopped at mere imitation of movement; instead, it evolved into a formal language that constructs compositional tension and reveals human depth.
LU Hang’s exploration of gestures clearly aligns with this tradition, yet he gradually develops a unique creative consciousness. In his works, gestural systems no longer serve external narratives but become an independent language system—a medium that reflects universal human conditions and experiments with the boundaries of artistic expression. His meticulous writing and shaping of gestures stem from a persistent inquiry into the dynamics of movement itself, revealing the complexity of gestures as a mode of existence.
From this perspective, LU Hang’s creative approach can be seen as a modern response to traditional artistic philosophy: he does not attempt to convey a predetermined conclusion through gestures. Instead, he harnesses their openness and ambiguity to invite viewers into a fluid process of contemplation. Whether through the low crouch or the soaring leap, LU Hang’s gestural system carries a multilayered reflection on human experience, emphasizing that art should not merely replicate the world but construct one. This creative vision roots his gestural language in artistic tradition while imbuing it with strong contemporary relevance, offering new possibilities for gestures as a visual language.
From Classic to Contemporary: Reinterpreting Symbols and Extending the Spirit
As a core language of artistic expression, the human form has carried diverse meanings throughout history, from the pursuit of proportional beauty in ancient Greece, the search for salvation in the Middle Ages, the scientific exploration of structure during the Renaissance, to the deconstruction and reassembly of form in modernism. The study of the human figure has gradually evolved beyond formal considerations, becoming a medium for exploring human emotions and philosophical questions. This tradition reached a profound new depth in Michelangelo’s late work, Pietà Rondanini.
This unfinished sculpture reflects Michelangelo’s deep contemplation in his later years on religious faith and the essence of humanity. Unlike the robust and powerful figures commonly seen in his work, the Christ figure in this piece is emaciated and fragile, resting in the Virgin’s embrace with an ethereal sense of impending departure. The unfinished texture of the sculpture preserves its openness to interpretation, transforming Christ’s image from a mere symbol of suffering into something far more universal. This “unfinishedness” transcends the religious narrative, expressing a profound awareness of life’s fragility and uncertainty.
Similarly, Alberto Giacometti’s Walking Man (L’Homme qui marche), heavily influenced by Sartre and existentialist philosophy, conveys a powerful sense of loneliness and existential reflection. His slender, elongated figures appear fragile in vast spaces, yet radiate tension. This visual impact challenges traditional notions of proportion and sense of weight in sculpture, while embodying the isolation and struggles of modern existence. Giacometti’s simplified forms focus on the essence of life, allowing viewers to experience the alienation between humans and the world. Every thin line in his sculptures narrates the hardship and absurdity of human existence. These statues, simultaneously static and dynamic, pose the eternal question: What is humanity’s place in the world?
LU Hang draws deep inspiration from these works, yet his reinterpretation imbues these figures with new contemporary meanings through abstraction and reconstruction. From Opportunist (2016) to Red Torso (2022) and Dance (2023), the evolution of the “slender figure” is evident. While these forms continue the “attenuated” aesthetic, their spiritual direction has undergone a fundamental transformation. LU seeks to move beyond the physical fragility conveyed by these red, slender figures, exploring instead the vulnerability of the individual’s spirit and humanity in contemporary society. In the face of today’s challenges, the physical incompleteness and spiritual disorientation of his figures become core metaphors in his works.
Especially in Red Torso, the emaciated red body appears both as a flesh-and-blood organism and a floating symbol. The artist’s technique of repeatedly layering and adjusting brushstrokes creates a fluidity in the form’s boundaries, oscillating between clarity and obscurity, imbuing the figure with an ambiguous sense of existence. This ambiguity subtly resonates with the unfinished texture of Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini, while also reflecting LU Hang’s distinct creative stance. He does not appear to use slenderness to convey a salvific force; instead, he transforms this form into a vehicle for questioning the individual’s relationship with society, history, and the self. Through this approach, we glimpse a homage to classical art in his figures, alongside a reactivation and extension of its spirit.
This quality of reinterpretation is further evident in LU Hang’s “headless” figures. In the Bowl series, the absence of the head renders the human form exceptionally fragile, yet simultaneously imbued with an undeniable strength. LU situates this imagery within dual historical and cultural contexts: on the one hand, he draws inspiration from Chinese mythology, such as the headless warrior Xing Tian from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, symbolizing resilience and defiance; on the other hand, he is influenced by Georges Bataille’s concept of the Acephalic Man. Through formal simplification and symbolic abstraction, LU diminishes the specificity of these cultural origins, transforming the figures into abstract representations of universal human conditions. The absence of the head signifies both the dissolution of identity and a subtle hint at the reconstruction of subjectivity.
Through such reinterpretation and innovation, LU Hang not only extends the classical spirit but also seeks to transcend the limitations of the classical context. He integrates ideas from literature, art history, and philosophy into his work, infusing gesture-based language with greater complexity and openness. In this process, LU’s visual language achieves a transformation—from religious to secular, from narrative to symbolic—becoming a form of expression that embodies both universality and individuality.
This creative approach reflects LU’s engagement with art history. His exploration through the medium of gestures represents an important pathway and hallmark of his systematic and research-based practice. Observing his work from this perspective reveals his continual construction of form and meaning, as well as the qualities that mark him as a maturing artist: the shift from fragmented expressions to a systematic exploration of visual language, and the attempt to establish an independent system of thought and form in painting.
However, in the highly symbolic nature of gesture-based language, LU faces ongoing challenges in his future creations. How can he avoid formal rigidity and emotional detachment? How can he sustain the viewer’s multidimensional interpretations amid repetitive writing? These challenges themselves echo the broader questions confronting contemporary painting in this era of “visual oversaturation.”
Author: Liu Siyuan
Artworks: LU Hang
