Peggy Guichu and Her Art
Peggy Guichu is an American artist (a female artist from the United States). She began her painting career at the age of 30. She is a self-taught artist. She says her creations come from her heart and soul, and the purpose of her work is to allow the subconscious to create. To Peggy Guichu, it is no doubt that emotion has been the important pivot to her creations, and all of her life experiences has become the rich expression in her works. As a female artist, being sensitive and passionate is an infinite extension of her creative power. The fact is that art is already integrated into the depth of Peggy’s life, and becomes her way of living, while recording her personal life experiences.
Peggy Guichu’s paintings contain an abstract and expressionistic look. Her focus on the freedom and frankness of expression, do not formalize the descriptions of a specific theme or plot. Peggy says, “I simply begin and allow the work to unfold. Only when the work is done will it tell me its story. I feel a part of me transferred into the painting; an emotion or moment of knowledge.” However, our artist Peggy Guichu does not concern herself with the so-called inherent borders which define abstract or expressionist art. Rather she follows up with the nature, so that the various old barriers are easily broken.
In many of Peggy’s imaginative works, some specific figures are introduced onto the canvas right under the appearance of abstract or expressionism - mountain views, but in a sea like view, cloud shapes but with the feeling of mist, to evoke the viewers to think, to image. As Peggy says what she expresses are all the images in her life or in her memories. “My memories of this experience were the colors of the land we were flying over. The flowers were made of colors I had never seen before and the air was so crystal clear that I could actually see sparkling prisms all around me.” “I was happier than I had ever been in my entire life and flying so free.” Peggy’s personal imagination becomes the most active factor in her artistic creation and only because of owning the creative ability, Peggy’s art creations can be also of a more expansion of possibilities.
Change is a present world topic. To correspond to this, Peggy’s creations are a conscious effort to show social issues, such as environmental protection.in ‘Is It Too Late?’. This painting reflects the worries from the artist to the fate of the earth's future, with the meaning of criticism and self-examination; ‘An Offering‘, is more positive and progressive in image, good wishes from the artist of happiness and harmony. ‘On The Road To Enlightenment‘, is more like a kind of parable of the image, artist uses the theme of the Himalayas, gradually elevates to the exploration of the world's primitive nature and the praise to the life.
Peggy’s art focuses on colors and variations. She says her creating is like composing music. However, the mission of an artist is to coordinate colors together, to form a color related, powerful "chorus". Peggy always starts with a chorus of colors, “stroke of the brush, and let the images turn in as the composition begins.” And, then through a variety of color combinations, a “colorful world” is composed. In here, the artist is more like a "conductor" of a symphony, as she uses the infinite variation of the colors, to form a controlled image layout, then to enhance the visual richness and appeal.
Peggy’s works are not wordy sermons or specific descriptions. Not much concern about being right or wrong, the works want to express the freedom and independent, as well as personal meditation. In this context, Peggy’s art is with some degree of an oriental nature. In fact, Western modernist art movement is more or less influenced by the impact of Oriental Art, and in the modern era of globalization, post-modern art view does not care who the East is, or who is the West. Although Peggy Guichu’s works were created in the distant West, each of the Eastern viewers may be able to feel and receive the Eastern resonance from her works, as well as finding an inosculated cultural leap.
Perhaps Peggy’s solo exhibition in Beijing is such an opportunity to communicate with, to make acquaintance, to understand each other.
Zhao Li
Doctorate in Literature
Associate Professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts
Vice President of Humanity Institute of Central Academy of Fine Art
Researcher of Chinese and Foreign Fine Art Markets
Founder of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature Research Center
Target research interests include art history, cultural heritage protection and development, management and promotion of the fine arts.
Art Director of Art Beijing Fair
Guest speaker of the Boao Forum for Asia 2009
Curator of China National Art Museum in the 53rd Venice Biennale, 2009
In October of 2009, Zhao Li organized Global Collecting Forum in Beijing (originally the forum was in the UK)
