Wu Jian'an, a visual artist, is a pr ofessor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Wu Jian'an’s artistic creations span a variety of mediums including painting, sculpture, paper-cutting, and installation. Through seemingly distant and unrelated contexts, his work expresses the eternal aspects of human civilization and awakens the hidden, subtle yet grandiose subconscious within us. In 2017, his work represented China at the 57th Venice Biennale. His major works are held in the collections of prestigious institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Brazil, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan, and the White Rabbit Gallery in Australia. In 2019, Wu Jian'an was featured in *Chinese Imagination*, a documentary produced by CCTV Documentary Channel.

"Pastiche" is a series of artworks that reconfigure stones from various geological eras, each bearing distinct natural imprints, into geometric cubes through precise cutting and skillful assembly. These pieces are not merely collections of materials, but visual representations of the passage of time, the reconstruction of space, and the layering of history. The texture and color of each stone function as solidified segments of time, conversing within their new structures to form a subtle yet profound order. The work challenges the inherent forms of the stone, extracting it from its original geological space and placing it into a new one constructed by human intent. Through their unique compositions, these cubes invite viewers to contemplate the lifecycle of materials and to discover harmony within diversity, and new meaning within historical sedimentation. They are meditations on reshaping and coexistence, quietly showcasing the delicate balance between the natural and the artificial.