A Street View of Shanghai, 2007

A Street View of Shanghai, 2007

Chen Bolan
China, b. 1955
A Street View of Shanghai, 2007
Oil on canvas
Promised gift of the Foundation Ink

This oil painting was based on a photograph in the 1920s or ’30s. Capturing a mundane moment, the scene shows rickshaws from behind as they move up the street. Shop banners blow in the wind, the characters on them barely legible. Mimicking the out-of-focus effect of an old black-and-white photograph, the painting evokes a sense of nostalgia. The blurriness contributes to the sensation of an ephemeral moment eluding the viewer like a faded memory.

 

© Chen Bolan, photo: Maurice Aeschimann, Geneva

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