Aesthetic tableau

Cao Ping sees painting as a reflection upon, and a passion for, personal memories. In her view, Western paintings are descriptive and display human reactions to desire, life and death, while Eastern paintings, such as landscapes and ink-and-water, are metaphorical and express people's comprehension of the interaction between humans and nature.

In her latest exhibition at Art Channel, Cao reinterprets the composition of flower-and-bird paintings with a reference to Western expressions. Her works manifest a meeting of Eastern and Western traditions and a personal experience.

For instance, April (pictured) portrays the alternation of life and death. It reminds viewers of a line from the poem The Waste Land by British poet T. S. Eliot that, "April is the cruelest month". And Rose Garden depicts a scene of glamour and vitality, and is very much a modern version of shi nu tu (paintings of court ladies in ancient China).