Huang Gang

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About the artwork

This sculpture by Chinese artist Huang Gang depicts a female soldier striking a dynamic pose, who appears to be swinging a golf club. The work is imbued with symbols pertaining to the Cultural Revolution, a period of social and political upheaval, yet the woman is shown to be partaking in a leisure activity. Huang Gang spent his youth in China during this period, and thus his personal memories and experiences of life during this time heavily inform his works. This nuanced sculpture thus explores the juxtaposition between relaxation and chaos, and discusses how periods of crisis affect people of various roles in vastly different forms.

About the artist

Born in Beijing in 1961, Huang Gang studied at the China Central Academy of Art and Design, graduating with a B.A. in Fine Art, followed by an M.A. in Environmental Art in 1991. Huang Gang was surrounded by traditional Chinese art and calligraphy since he was a child and, in the 1980s, developed an interest in traditional Tibetan culture which inspired him to incorporate Tibetan methods and motifs in his work. Huang Gang’s preoccupation with traditional Chinese and Tibetan culture comes as a response to the rapid socio-economic transformation in China throughout the 1990s. Recognized internationally, Huang Gang won the Ikuo Hirayama award in 1991 and the Silver Award at the 1st Beijing International Environmental Art Exhibition in 1995.