Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning - Lévy Gorvy
  • Exterior Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 40 Albemarle Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 40 Albemarle Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao's painting "Thoughts in Remote Mountains"

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

  • Installation view of Tu Hongtao "Twisting and Turning" exhibition at Lévy Gorvy London

    Installation view, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning, 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London, 2020. © Tu Hongtao. Photo: Stephen White & Co

Tu Hongtao: Twisting and TurningExhibitions

London
October 2 - November 24, 2020

Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning

Lévy Gorvy is pleased to announce its first European exhibition with acclaimed Chinese artist Tu Hongtao (b. 1976). Following the gallery’s career survey of Tu’s paintings in Hong Kong in early 2020, this exhibition will debut new works never before exhibited. On view at both 22 Old Bond Street and 40 Albemarle Street, Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning features expansive paintings that occupy an expressive realm between landscape and abstraction, reflecting the atmosphere and influence of the rural area near where the artist resides. Tu synthesizes Chinese aesthetic traditions with postwar abstraction to create painterly effects that are vividly realized and profoundly original.

The exhibition’s title Twisting and Turning is inspired by the Chinese idiom Yibosanzhe—“a twist and three turns”—a phrase that originates from Jin Dynasty master calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303–361 CE). Originally referring to the elegant flourishes of Chinese calligraphy, the phrase now describes unpredictable, abruptly changing states of affairs, while also implying that good things never come easy. As Tu explains: “I understand these words as espousing a certain aesthetic sensibility, namely, that painting ought not to be too neat and orderly, nor artistic production too decorative; both, rather, should involve a kind of friction, as with a blade against a grindstone.” In the face of the uncertainty and global predicaments of the present, he has broken through with new forms of painterly expression in this new body of works.

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Selected Works

  • Tu Hongtao's painting Flowers in Mountain Shades

    TU HONGTAO
    Flowers in the Mountain Shades
    2019–20
    Oil on canvas
    106 5/16 x 82 11/16 inches (270 x 210 cm)
    © Tu Hongtao

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  • Tu Hongtao's painting A City of Sadness

    TU HONGTAO
    A City of Sadness
    2019–20
    Oil on canvas
    70 7/8 x 110 1/4 inches (180 x 280 cm)
    © Tu Hongtao

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  • Tu Hongtao's painting Falling Leaves Rustling Down

    TU HONGTAO
    Falling Leaves Rustling Down
    2019–20
    Oil on canvas
    106 5/16 x 82 11/16 inches (270 x 210 cm)
    © Tu Hongtao

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  • Tu Hongtao's painting Flowers in the Mountain Shades

    TU HONGTAO
    Flowers in the Mountain Shades
    2019–20
    Oil on canvas
    106 5/16 x 82 11/16 inches (270 x 210 cm)
    © Tu Hongtao

    Inquire
  • Tu Hongtao's painting Green Mountains Shall See Me Like This

    TU HONGTAO
    Green Mountains Shall See Me Like This
    2019
    Oil on canvas
    Four panels, each: 102 3/8 x 82 11/16 inches (260 x 210 cm)
    Overall: 102 3/8 x 330 11/16 inches (260 x 840 cm)
    © Tu Hongtao

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  • Tu Hongtao's painting Image of Strange Stones

    TU HONGTAO
    Image of Strange Stones
    2020
    Acrylic, charcoal, pastel, and watercolor on paper
    15 3/4 x 27 9/16 inches (40 x 70 cm) 
    © Tu Hongtao

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  • Tu Hongtao's painting Spring River in the Flower Moon Night

    TU HONGTAO
    Spring River in the Flower Moon Night
    2019–20
    Oil on canvas
    82 11/16 x 126 inches (210 x 320 cm) 
    © Tu Hongtao

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  • Tu Hongtao's painting Stream-Fallen Leaves-Deep Valley

    TU HONGTAO
    Stream-Fallen Leaves-Deep Valley
    2019–20
    Oil on canvas
    51 3/16 x 39 3/8 inches (130 x 100 cm)
    © Tu Hongtao

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  • Tu Hongtao's painting Swinging Time

    TU HONGTAO
    Swinging Time
    2019–20
    Oil on canvas
    70 7/8 x 110 1/4 inches (180 x 280 cm)
    © Tu Hongtao

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Video

"Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning" | 22 Old Bond Street, Lévy Gorvy London 2020

October 21, 2020

Selected Press

Hyperallergic | Painting “the Eternity of Time”

December 19, 2020

Tu Hongtao's paintings revisit the traditions of Chinese painting while evading the perils of oversimplification …

GalleriesNow | Tu Hongtao: Green Mountains Shall See Me Like This

November 19, 2020

A presentation of Green Mountains Shall See Me Like This (2019), a multi-panel painting that extends …

Rolling Stone | 他是否有望成为下一个“中国最有价值的艺术家” (Is he possibly the next "most valued Chinese Artist"?)

November 16, 2020

On October 2nd, "Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning" was exhibited at Lévy Gorvy's London Space, presenting …

The Art Newspaper | London galleries to accommodate collectors ‘by appointment’ during second coronavirus lockdown

November 4, 2020

Some dealers say they will continue to hold private viewings for buyers, while opening hours are extended …

Harper’s Bazaar Art | 屠宏涛:绘画是场无休止的探究 (Tu Hongtao: Painting is an endless exploration)

November 1, 2020

From October 2nd to December 19th, "Tu Hongtao: Twists and Turns" was exhibited at Lévy Gorvy's London …

Black Qube | „Twisting and turning“ – Paintings by Tu Hongtao

October 19, 2020

„Twisting and Turning“ marks the first European exhibition of Chinese artist Tu Hongtao at Lévy …

The Art Newspaper | From flat white to white cube: Lévy Gorvy opens gallery in former Pret a Manger in Mayfair

October 15, 2020

Firm now plans to extend its lease after Long Museum buys huge Tu Hongtao painting on show in the new …

inssaidor | Tu Hongtao: Twisting and Turning — Lévy Gorvy

October 13, 2020

Lévy Gorvy is pleased to announce its first European exhibition with acclaimed Chinese artist Tu Hongtao …

Seb's Art List | Tu Hongtao - Twisting and Turning

October 1, 2020

Lévy Gorvy announces its first European exhibition with acclaimed Chinese artist Tu Hongtao (b. 1976). …

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