MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Kefan Bai
Dunes in the Sea, 63x62in, ink and oil on linen, 2021
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Reeds and Sandalwood, 50x43in, ink and reed on linen, 2021
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Fume, 54x86in, ink and dry pigments on linen, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Untitled, 45x66in, ink and thread on linen, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Stroll Along the Wetlands, 62x62in, ink and passionfruit juice on canvas, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
My Foot and Me, 17x14in, 87x27in, ink on wood, ink on linen, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
See Through My Body, 24x30 in, ink on canvas and layered plastic boards, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Paralleled Rivers, 24x70in, 4x20in, ink on canvas, ink, yarn, thread, acrylic and nail polish on wood, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
48 Diaries, 9x9in x 48, ink, thread and orange peels on canvas, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Kaleidoscope, 36x48in, ink, acrylic, and oil on canvas, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Petrichor, 64x50in, ink and thread on canvas, 2019
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
A Margining Fish, 54x38in, ink and thread on canvas, 2019
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Concrete Melting #1, 16x24in, watercolor and collage on paper, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Concrete Melting #2, 16x24in, watercolor and collage on paper, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Concrete Melting #3, 16x24in, watercolor and collage on paper, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Concrete Melting #4, 16x24in, watercolor and collage on paper, 2020
By MFA Thesis_ Fluidity: the Self-Expression of Art
Artist Statement
Art is about the sense of belatedness. I am chasing after the evidence left behind beings and beauty’s arrival, and my works are the trajectories of that journey. My art is deeply rooted in my belief in paradoxes. Corporeality contradicts spirit, yet under different lenses, this contradiction can be the manifestation of confirmations between the two. My works have been developed around the subject of fluidity, focusing on the notions of contingency, transcendency, and the artwork’s self-performance. Fluidity is significant not only because it is relevant to social structures but also because I find myself to have become more and more similar to it. I have been studying abroad for nine years and moved eight times between cities. I have been drifting like and becoming as flexible as water, having grown up in a chaotic but generous world. Fluidity is a characteristic of water and a potent embodiment of wisdom that looks for the essence of the paradoxical universe through the sensational application of time to imply an uncertain form of beauty.