Wang Ruohan : Walk on Neon Arc

“I think reality can be recorded best by a camera, whereas surreality can only come from artworks. It seems like our duty to bring people from reality to surreality through art."
- Wang Ruohan 

Often described as “whimsical”, Wang’s universe explores what she calls “the surreal world of images in the deep level of human consciousness.” For the artist, Art’s prerogative is the pursuit of the surreal. She strives to transcribe in visual language a world of unspoken possibilities, an imaginary offshoot of contemporary life. 

 The paintress can be described as an explorer of the surreal, who finds components keys for her creations is an exercice that can sometimes require her to push her own limits. For instance, she likes to create at night, when everything outside is silent and that her body enters in a sensual state. She explains that she needs that psychological condition to somehow lose her mind to work for hours without taking any breaks. She then loses track of time. She confesses: "for my work, I think the surreal elements emerge when I try to go to the max—or get to a point where I feel sick and can’t do it anymore. It’s the best boundary for me in terms of creation."

Saturated colors, facets of city life combined with elements of nature floating in abstract space, the universe of Wang Ruohan has a virtual quality that recalls the digital space, sometimes integrating animated GIFs or even taking the form of retro-futuristic video animations. Her paintings, drawings and illustrations seem perfectly at home when displayed on a screen, as demonstrated by her strong Instagram account. As she explains, "it is an ideal way to show my work.” 

Wang excels at hopping across online and offline realities, as though there was no separation between both worlds. Whether flashing on her social media feed, hanging on a wall or soaring high on the facade of a tall building, her work feels like one continuum, one unbroken, gloriously colorful fresco.