「Look at the Picture and Talk about the Painting」Fu Yao: Arcadia Hidden in the “Tree”

Socializing feels like being forced to work. At parties, one smiles and clinks glasses, but in the corner of the eye, one is looking for a place to hide. One wants to be alone but fears being called “unsociable”. Forcing oneself to join in leaves one as exhausted as an empty shell. Fu Yao incorporated this sentiment into the “Arcadia Club” series, hiding the sense of belonging that people long for within the “trees”.

The redtree is a barrier for solitude. Its bright red trunk is like a soft wall, supporting the person reading under it. The colorful dots among the branches are like social signals from the outside world, hanging outside the tree canopy without intruding into this tranquility. Although he is in the open sky and earth, he uses this tree to place himself in a private corner within the public space. The tree gives him a sense of belonging without leaving the group, while also providing enough freedom to remain silent.

The trees in this painting serve as a soft shell for the gathering, bearing the dignity of people being together and containing their mutual estrangement. You don’t need to escape the gathering; just stay under this tree, and you can openly be “among the crowd but in solitude”, as if the moment of “smiling and clinking glasses but lost in thought” in reality is directly frozen in the Arcadian woods.

These trees are not secluded islands but buffers for modern social interactions. This sense of belonging is not about crowding together in a noisy mass; it’s about being in a crowd while still being able to be yourself.

If you also want to find a corner to rest from the fatigue of socializing, come to the Shenzhen Art Fair from December 4th to 7th and stand before Fu Yao’s paintings to feel the gentle protection of these two trees.

The tea for today is all gone. Next time, I’ll brew a fresh pot and enjoy art with you again.