This work utilizes the Tang Dynasty mural Polo Players as its background, featuring a gilded bronze horse as the central subject. The artist focuses on expressing the inherent characteristics of materials: both the gilded bronze horse and ancient Chinese murals possess a unique texture bestowed by the passage of time, symbolizing the flow of history. Technically, the artist applied a tempera base onto a wooden panel to replicate the texture and grain of a traditional mural, while employing the luster and materiality of oil paint to capture the specific surface of gilded bronze. Conceptually, the moment the horse lifts its leg creates a "semi-static" pose brimming with latent energy. This stands in sharp contrast to the dynamic passion of the polo match unfolding in the background, creating a powerful juxtaposition between stillness and motion.

About the Artist

Tom Yang
（China，b.1995）

MFA in Oil Painting, China Academy of Art. Full-time faculty at Chengdu Academy of Fine Arts, Sichuan Conservatory of Music. Based in Chengdu. His work focuses on the “city” he lives in and the “people” around him. Approaching his subjects from the perspective of witnessing urban development and through personal observation, he draws on compositional strategies and viewpoints from both Chinese and Western classical painting. He seeks to capture the transformations of the city and the states of its inhabitants. While his style is realist, the use of grayscale tones emphasizes the inner spirit and the life relationships between the figures and their surrounding environment. The sense of temporality and the emotional states of the subjects resonate within the paintings. His works have been exhibited at Jiangsu Art Museum, Zhejiang Art Museum, and Ningbo Art Museum.