Introduction

Mental Image: Gu Gan's Abstract Art of Calligraphy

Jointly presented by Hunan Museum and Beijing Yunmiao Culture, “Mental Image: Gu Gan’s Abstract Art of Calligraphy” is on view in Special Exhibition Hall 3, Third Floor of Hunan Museum from 16 May to 16 August 2025.

Commemorating the fifth anniversary of Mr. Gu Gan’s passing—Hunan’s preeminent artist, this exhibition adopts a segmented chronological manner to trace his pioneering journey from the mid - 1980s through 2015. Through three decades of relentless artistic exploration, Gu Gan introduced the “symbolist” abstraction of Chinese character calligraphy to the global stage, forging a distinctive visual lexicon that transcends cultural boundaries.

Curated with around sixty seminal works capturing the apex of his career, the exhibition traces Gu Gan’s transformative path. It begins with his pivotal role in organizing the groundbreaking 1985 “First Modern Calligraphy Exhibition” by the Modern Painting and Calligraphy Association—a watershed moment in contemporary Chinese art history. Throughout his practice, he masterfully interwove the form, meaning, and gestural lines of Chinese characters into modernist abstraction. His mental image became a vessel for transcendental spirit, a dialogue with his homeland, and an ode to the revered Huxiang culture. This retrospective invites us to rediscover, reinterpret, and redefine “a Hunan native artist who evolved from local roots to gain global resonance”.

The exhibition aspires to invigorate the innovation and evolution of contemporary Chinese art. It invites viewers to contemplate the artist’s synthesis of Eastern and Western aesthetics, witness his deep-rooted engagement with traditional Chinese culture, and appreciate his singular contribution to abstract art—a path forged amid the tides of global artistic discourse.