About the artwork
Xie Ai Ge’s recurrent mountains often serve as symbols of sacred spaces, alluding to meditation and spiritual pursuit, while also symbolizing the larger-than-life quality of being immovable and untouchable by all around it. In ‘Pray’, the artist adorns her mountain with a figure immersed in prayer, with the bird of freedom on his shoulder. Symbolizing the breaking of earthly binds, found in commune with a greater force, the image is aesthetically implicit of levity, and an understated grandeur that compliments its conceptual thematic. The quiet tranquillity of the image as a whole, is resplendent in its serene simplicity and subtle connotations of spiritual liberation.
About the artist
Born in Hunan province in 1977, Xie Ai Ge made her name in the international art world with a host of remarkable works in bronze and synthetic materials. Graduated from the Shanghai Fine Arts College, she was recognized early as a promising young sculptor and in 2005, was acclaimed by art critics for her innovative work during her exhibition in the Shanghai Duolon Museum of Modern Art. The artist has progressed to exhibit globally with a focus on China and the US, where her works are part of many prestigious collections. Xie Ai Ge currently lives and works in Shanghai, China.