Unusual vision

If you visit Shao's ongoing exhibition, You, at the Ludwig Museum in the German city of Koblenz, it's clear that the artist has maintained his consistent preference for symmetrical composition over the decades. And whether he uses canvas or traditional Chinese rice paper as his medium, Shao also likes to place the single subject of his work front and center. It's also clear that Shao has shifted his focus from oil paintings to ink monochromes since 2013.

The exhibition, which runs through July 22, and shows Shao's paintings, installations and furniture designs since the late 1980s, is based on a collaboration between the Ludwig Museum and Shao's international collectors and sponsors - including the Uli Sigg Collection, the Galerie Urs Meile in Lucerne and the Erlenmeyer Foundation of Switzerland.

Whether he works with oil paint or Chinese ink, Shao endeavors to blend his yearning for the simple life with the unsophisticated beauty of Song-era artistry into his contemporary works. And through his layers of intricate strokes executed with ultimate patience, Shao prompts enduring questions about the nature of eternity and human existence itself.

One recurring motif in Shao's work has been a larger-than-life rabbit. The furry mammal that seems so vulnerable in the natural world is instead depicted as an imposing creature with upright ears and a fearless, almost confrontational stare.

The rabbit motif became the focus for Shao's painterly work years after a friend gave him one as a gift. He later found the rabbit a mate and has since raised several of their offspring at home.

The statuesque rabbit in Shao's paintings sits on the ground, as steady as a pyramid, exuding a sense of volume and momentum. Confronted with the image, the viewer "no longer feels the superiority of being human, but shares the vulnerability of a small creature being looked down upon by something much bigger", Shao says.

While the rabbit image tends to evoke reflections about human self-centeredness, Shao adopts the imagery of an old monkey to discuss the process of aging. Under his brush, Shao personifies the monkey, making it look like a peaceful monk deep in meditation, impervious to the passing of time and the changing world.