Pape Satàn Aleppe
October 18 — December 21, 2024
Brussels
“Even as the sails inflated by the wind
Involved together fall when snaps the mast,
So fell the cruel monster to the earth.”
— Dante Alighieri, Canto VII, Inferno
Gladstone is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Hao Liang. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The enigmatic phrase “Pape Satàn Aleppe,” uttered by Pluto in Dante’s Inferno and defying centuries of interpretation, sets the tone for Hao Liang’s thought-provoking exhibition. Drawing direct inspiration from Umberto Eco’s similarly titled work—which explores the erosion of individual-community bonds and the fragmentation of a shared historical narrative—this exhibition presents diverse cultures, histories, and philosophies. By adopting this cryptic title, the exhibition amplifies the calculated ambiguity inherent in Hao Liang’s works, inviting the viewer to grapple with layers of meaning at the intersection of visual history, literary allusion, and philosophical inquiry.
Installation
Work
About
Hao Liang (b. 1983, Chengdu, China) lives and works in Beijing. Hao Liang received both his Masters of Fine Arts (2009) and Bachelors of Fine Art (2006) from the Chinese Painting Department of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing, China. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Aurora Museum, Shanghai (2019); UCCA Center of Contemporary Art, Beijing (2016); and Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands (2016). Hao Liang has participated in recent group exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2024, 2017); ZHI Foundation, Beijing (2023); Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing (2023); He Art Museum, Shunde, China (2022); The British Museum, M WOODS Museum, Beijing (2021); M+ Museum of Contemporary Culture, Hong Kong (2021); Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (2021); West Bund Museum, Shanghai (2020); 57th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice (2017); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2017); and Foundation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2016). His work is held in major public collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Asia Society, Hong Kong; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands; The British Museum, London; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia; Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco; M+ Museum, Hong Kong; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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