Nan Ke Gallery is pleased to present Mengfan Bai's solo exhibition “Circular” on May 16th at the Aurora Art Museum in Shanghai.
If the progress of human civilization is like a flowing, tangible river, then "copper" is like the fish swimming through it, soaking into every texture of the water. From the ritual bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties and ancient alchemy, to the finely detailed sculptures of the human form during the Renaissance, to the clinking currency and the symphony of wind instruments beneath the dome, copper atoms freely traverse the axes of time and space.
Mengfan Bai
Texture34, 2025
Oil on canvas
133h x 102w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
"Rust" is the companion concept that arises alongside it. From the moment copper entered human society, the process of rusting began to take place. Every second, the traces of humanity and time together continue to oxidize the copper. The artist Mengfan Bai's upcoming solo project "Circular“, to be held at the Aurora Art Museum, delves into this interplay between corrosion and creation.
In the exhibition, Mengfan Bai meticulously depicts the rust marks on various copper vessels, aiming to capture the condensed historical fragments within them, as well as the traces of civilizations that once shone. Through the varying colors and textures of the rust, we are able to pinpoint the age of the objects before us, while simultaneously reflecting on our own existence.
Mengfan Bai
Earth Green2220, 2024
Oil on canvas
50h x 40w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
Mengfan Bai's past artistic focus has centered on "metal currency," as exemplified by the piece "Keep the Change 1900 II" in this exhibition. The circulatory nature of currency is excavated and amplified, reflecting individuals who similarly flow through different cultural clusters. From there, her perspective broadens, expanding to encompass copper as an element in itself. Copper has been widely used both in the East and West, throughout history and into the present. Over time, it has been covered with layers of rust through the evolution of human society, and has also been recast, undergoing an endless cycle, never fading away. Much like the water cycle in nature, copper flows through the river of civilization, both reversing and flowing forward. It is constantly transformed in texture and state, yet eternally exists, witnessing the rise and fall of all things, in a perpetual cycle.
Mengfan Bai
Permanent Yellow Deep2220, 2024
Oil on canvas
50h x 40w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
In the works presented in this exhibition, a series of pieces such as "DarkRed3200" and "Turquoise3600" meticulously depict the surfaces of copper artifacts, creating an intriguing dialogue with the ancient relics housed at the Aurora Museum. The numbers in the titles mark the years since the creation of these objects, reflecting the rust marks that also hint at their age. The rust, in different hues, grows in a steady, deliberate manner, much like a brand or a marker of the object's age and history. However, this proof of identity is not stable. It is continuously shifting and evolving, just as time flows and human society transforms, ultimately falling within the cycle of perpetual change.
Mengfan Bai
Turqoise3600, 2024
Oil on canvas
50h x 40w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
Mengfan Bai
DarkRed3200, 2024
Oil on canvas
50h x 40w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
The "Spring Plaza" series depicts fountains in the square, where the copper finish contrasts with the ripples of water, symbolically echoing the cyclical nature of civilization's progress. From ancient city-states to modern metropolises, fountains have always stood as iconic structures. Originally serving as functional sources of pure water, they have evolved into lively embellishments of urban landscapes. The ever-circulating water metaphorically represents the fusion of human civilization’s origins and its future path. The flowing water of the fountain cleanses and reveals the potential for copper elements to exist and immerse themselves in the life of the city, completing the visual narrative of the circular.
Mengfan Bai
Spring Plaza I, 2024
Oil on canvas
102h x 76w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
When metal rusts, the traces accumulated on its surface become the footprints left behind by humanity, much like marks in the snow. However, the elements themselves do not belong to the dominion of humans; they merely coexist, bearing witness to one another in a grander cycle of existence.
Text by Roxane Fu
