Wind Runners

Wind Runners

Oil On Canvas

340×195cm

2017

This is a painting best viewed from a distance. Its horizontal format, three meters wide and one meter tall, naturally simulates the breadth of a visual field—the oncoming tide of horses, rendered in dynamic brushstrokes, is too numerous to count; they are not individuals, but a torrent sweeping forth from the depths of the canvas.

This work dates from a transitional period in BEI Jiaxiang’s exploration of brushwork. It differs from his early, more Impressionistic use of hazy light and shadow, as well as from the signature short, swift strokes of his later period. The surface features predominantly block-like applications—not depictions, but rather a composed, assertive “building” of volume and momentum through the texture of the pigment.

The visual dialectic within is also deeply intriguing: the temperament is classical, yet the treatment is decidedly modern. The palette is subdued and restrained, with a foundation of earthy ochre tones laying down a rich substrate. The reddish-brown horses intertwine with hints of goose-yellow and dark red on the jockeys; even the white helmets and saddle straps, used as highlights, are perfectly integrated into this serene color field, as if time itself has slowed. The background, however, presents a stark contrast—a nearly uniform expanse of light brown, devoid of any narrative content. No sky, no ground, no landscape. The subject is a surging torrent; the background is silent emptiness. This separation of subject from background is a distinctly modern approach. It strips away all contextual narrative, suspending the galloping horses within an infinite, non-spatial realm, forcing the gaze to focus solely on the act of galloping itself.

This treatment echoes the work of Giorgio Morandi. The Italian painter would isolate his bottles and vessels from their specific environments, placing them against abstract backdrops to reveal the timeless poetry within ordinary objects. BEI Jiaxiang, similarly, employs a uniformly calm flat color to erect a wall that isolates his surging horses from the mundane world.