Tian Taiquan weighs the factual truth about the Cultural Revolution in China through his art. The intensity of the reality of what he had experienced in the political and cultural realm of his life is depicted in a vivid visual manner through digital technology.
Tian’s use of photography to capture that particular instant while conscientiously staging various elements that correspond to that period of time, accurately represent the political and cultural scenario in a fictitious way. The juxtaposition of the meaning and visual representation of his work, in which they metaphorically represent violence, destruction, suffering, confusion and darkness in spite of his usage of vivid colours and sensuous movement, creates a powerful conclusion in a sharp and detailed composition. In turn, this allows Tian to simultaneously bring the historical past and present together.
Tian was born in 1960. He graduated in 1988 from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. His solo exhibitions include the Cultural Arts Museum, Beijing, China; ‘Tears of Eros’, England; Gibsone Jessop Gallery, Canada; ‘Nature’, Shanghai, China, Shijiazhuang Contemporary Art Gallery, Hubei Province, China, ‘Lost’, Chongqing, China; 501 Art Space, Chongqing, China, and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, China. His group shows include Art Plus Shanghai, China; Art Asia Miami; Dialogue 2008 China, Beijing; Gathering under Olympic Rings, Beijing; Kitai Pveriod China Forward, Moscow; and Seoul International Media Biennale, Korea to name a few. The artist currently lives and works in Chongqing, China.