The Great American West as seen through the eyes of the East: Jove Wang’s work now on display at the LPAPA Gallery
By MARRIE STONE
When Jove Wang arrived in America in 1990, he had only 40 dollars in his pocket. The artist was 28 years old, an honors graduate from the finest art institutions in China – the Jilin Art School and the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now the China Academy of Art). Wang had apprenticed with master painter Gang Gu from the age of 7. Trained in both calligraphy and design, as well as classic artistic instruction, Wang came to the United States armed with formidable skills, a curious mind and an open heart.
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Photo by Marrie Stone
“The Great American West,” an exhibition by LPAPA Signature Artist Jove Wang, is on display at the LPAPA Gallery through November 28
But surviving as an artist in America isn’t easy, especially when one lacks both connections and money. Wang knew only one person in the states when he arrived. He accepted the sole job he could find as a receptionist in a collection agency. But soon his boss introduced Wang to friends who wanted personalized portraits. His first assignment paid $400.
By 1992, Wang had been commissioned by the Archbishop of Los Angeles Roger Mahony for a piece he added to the permanent collection of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. A year later, he commissioned Wang to paint a second portrait to be added to the permanent collection in Santi Quattro Coronati, Cardinal Mahony’s titular church in Rome. Now Wang’s future as an artist felt secure.
“I survived by commissioning, but I couldn’t imagine the future that lay ahead of me,” said Wang. “The Jove you know as an artist today, 30 years later, was beyond my imagination.”
But artistic success seemed to be written into Wang’s DNA. His background in design led Wang to work for the Chinese government on designing exhibition pavilions throughout Europe and South America. He also contributed to the design of the Chinese Exposition Center in Spain for the 1992 World Expo. “I enjoy freedom,” Wang said, noting that those travel experiences opened his mind to creative opportunities outside China. “That was my main drive to move to the U.S.”
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Courtesy of LPAPA
Jove Wang in his studio
Today, Wang uses all those skills and intense training to paint exclusively from the heart. His works are included in the permanent collections of several California art collections including the Bowers Museum, the Bakersfield Museum of Art and the art collection of Mission San Juan Capistrano, as well as in the art collection of the Museum of Jilin, China.
“I never paint subject matter which is popular, nor do I cater to collectors,” Wang said. “That’s not my point. I want to pursue only what’s in my heart. There are no formulas in painting. I never follow the same path. That would make the work boring. Whatever I paint, the subject matter must touch my heart first.”
Some pieces are painted on site in a matter of hours. “The spontaneity that I achieve is never reproducible,” Wang said. “It’s a kind of spirit an artist must feel entitled to have. This upbeat spirit can never be achieved because of time or effort. It’s inspiration.”
For Wang, if work lacks rhythm, movement or passion, it lacks life. In that regard, he thinks of himself much like an orchestra conductor. “Imagine that you are Seiji Ozawa, the Japanese conductor,” Wang often tells his students. “He doesn’t even have to move his baton. Using eye contact, every player receives his message and stays in sync with him. If you do not know how to do that with your work, it’s hard to continue.”
Translating that musicality onto canvas is Wang’s goal. “Consider a landscape. You need to be able to interpret the air, in between the space, in that work,” Wang said. “It’s not a matter of copying or recreating shapes and sizes of objects. The space – the air – is what you are after.”
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Courtesy of LPAPA
Jove Wang’s “Journey Through Yosemite” (33” x 50” oil)
Wang brought this Eastern philosophy to bear on America’s iconic West in his latest exhibition. The Great American West takes viewers on a journey through America’s rugged landscapes and national parks. Along the way, he visits Native Americans, rodeo cowboys and covered wagons. His work strikes a beautiful balance between technique and emotion with brushstrokes that have been described as “juicy.”
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Yet there’s a quiet strength he brings to each of his subjects. Several of the paintings are populated with horses, cattle and buffalo. These beasts of burden carry the weight in their eyes. Many of his portraits also do this. Blacksmiths, washer women, indigenous squaws and chiefs, gold miners and cowboys – their faces carry the markings of hard lives lived with purpose.
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Photo by Marrie Stone
Jove Wang stands aside “The Forging” (36” x 24” oil)
Eighty percent of the pieces in this exhibit were produced in the past year. The rest come from Wang’s private collection, including sketches and drawings he uses to illustrate his process. Those sketches are where the hard work happens.
“People often ask me, ‘Are you happy with what you’ve done so far?’ I don’t know,” said Wang. “If I find that I’m content with what I’ve done, then I’m living behind myself. There’s never contentment. As I tell my students, ‘If you overcome today some of your problem solving for this level, suddenly you’ll find another hill to climb.’ That’s how it must be.”
In the past, Wang has turned his artistic gaze towards the people of the Yangtze River, Mongolian women, French fishermen and Chinese miners. The American West may be his current preoccupation, but it’s only one in a series of many. Regardless of the subject matter – whether portrait, landscape or still life – all of Wang’s paintings contain that same passionate energy he regards as essential to the work.
“My goal is always to marry representational work with modern art, and never reproduce the same subject matter or be reduced to any ‘ism,’” he said. While much of his work reflects his training from the masters (including 19th and early 20th century German art that he combines with modernist thinking), he’s always reinventing himself.
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Courtesy of LPAPA
Jove Wang’s “In Anticipation” (39” x 50” oil)
In addition to his prolific work, Wang is also an engaged teacher. His translator, Peggy Chang, has been a student for nearly 20 years. “I’m very fortunate that I was guided by Jove,” Chang said. “I’ve learned that art is an everlasting pursuit in life. There’s always more to learn.”
Now entering his 60th year, Wang is proving that truth. “Life is my teacher,” he once said, “I am always out exploring, traveling, and looking for new experiences to keep my creative eye open and improving.” Looking over the vast body of varied work now on display at the LPAPA Gallery, it’s clear he is still seeking out new territory and bringing with it all the training and experience of a master.
LPAPA Gallery is located at 414 N. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. For more information, visit https://lpapa.org.