BONIAN SPACE is pleased to announce the solo exhibition The Emanation of Things by artist Na WANG, from April 12 to May 11, 2025. Curated by FU Xiaomin, the exhibition will feature over ten latest oil paintings by the artist.
The world we inhabit is a place of the emanation of things—a realm where all beings overflow and intermingle: roots of grass and trees stretch into the darkness, tides crease and fold with the rhythm of day and night, and the atmosphere envelops dust and the breath of all life. Here, emanation is not a one-way outpouring but a dynamic process where everything flows from its origin, continuously intertwining, blending, and regenerating across time and space. Life has never truly left its fluid environment; even after emerging from the ocean and stepping onto land, the air still provides an immersive medium—connecting matter and spirit, the internal and the external.
This exhibition uses nature as a thread, transforming “emanation” into a sensory metaphor for the circulation of life energy. In the artists' interpretations, it manifests as the quiet growth of microscopic moss, the tidal rhythm of the vast ocean, and the eternal surge of intangible air moving through the cosmos.
Na WANG’s work flows between the meeting points of Eastern and Western aesthetics. She juxtaposes the misty lyricism of watercolor with the complex textures of oil paint, creating a unique visual language. Her latest works continue her exploration of natural themes, presenting a state of suspended motion, where life hovers between gravity and lightness. Each brushstroke in her paintings feels like a breath—rising and falling—composing a series of liquid theaters: the green shadows and blue tones of forests intertwine at dawn and dusk, waves shift from thick masses into scattered foam, clouds churn atop mountain peaks like the sea nymphs.
Nereids, forming and dissolving in a play of strength and softness, substance and illusion. Within the depths of these images and symbols, one can almost hear Rimbaud whispering, “N'ont pas subi tohu-bohus plus triomphants.” (from Le Bateau ivre). The generative nature carried by this flow suggests that existence itself is an endless exchange—matter is reshaped in its vanishing, energy is reborn in its transformation.
Na WANG’s creative vision always carries the perspective of a “nomad,” capturing the subtle details of lived experience through movement and contemplation. Based in Paris, she weaves scenes from daily walks through the woods while also bringing the humidity of Chengdu, the deep blue of the Atlantic, and the surging grass waves of Napa Lake onto her canvases. This cross-cultural experience mirrors the nature of emanation itself: without a fixed beginning or end, only through ceaseless motion can it reflect, resonate, and harmonize with all things.
