Wonderful: Secret Lover in Golden House, 2007

Reminiscent of traditional Chinese paintings in composition, this work in Yao Jui-Chung’s “fake landscapes” series intentionally usurps the so-called orthodoxy. An isolated hut among mountains and mists traditionally indicates a lofty scholar’s reclusion—a literati pursuit. This painting, however, features a surprising secret lover. Painted with pens instead of brushes, decorated with flamboyant colors and gold leaves, this painting expresses an unavoidable influence of China’s traditions and the artist’s rebellion against it.

© Yao Jui-Chung, photo: Maurice Aeschimann, Geneva