Zhao Mengge

Starry Sky, 2021
Oil on canvas
30 × 40 cm

In Starry Sky, Zhao Mengge presents a solitary female figure reclining against a saturated field of red and black, her body rendered in luminous yellow that radiates against the surrounding darkness. The composition is stark and deliberate: the figure occupies the majority of the canvas, her elongated form both vulnerable and monumental.

A small tree emerges from her torso, transforming the body into landscape. This fusion of human and nature evokes themes of regeneration, rootedness, and interior growth. The gesture is symbolic rather than literal; Zhao does not illustrate narrative, but instead constructs an allegorical image of resilience and continuity.

The painting’s chromatic tension, intense reds, deep nocturnal blacks, and electric yellows, creates a charged atmosphere. Thick, sculptural brushwork reinforces the corporeal presence of the figure, while simplified contour lines recall mural traditions and ritual iconography.

Despite the title, the “starry sky” is not explicitly depicted; rather, it is implied through the enveloping darkness and quiet expansiveness of space. The work becomes a meditation on solitude and transformation, on the body as both vessel and terrain.

Through bold color and tactile materiality, Zhao extends her exploration of femininity into a more introspective register, where presence, nature, and symbolic landscape converge.