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Cai Guo-Qiang — Blue Bird and Blue Flower
Cai Guo-Qiang — Blue Bird and Blue Flower
Cai Guo-Qiang

Blue Bird and Blue Flower

2026

This monumental canvas captures the artist's signature technique of controlled gunpowder detonation, where explosive force transforms pigment into ephemeral gestural marks. Dominating the composition are concentrated clusters of deep indigo and cobalt blue, radiating outward in organic bursts and halos against a pale cream ground, punctuated by brown and grey scorching. The densest blue concentrations suggest avian or floral forms emerging from the chaos of detonation, their boundaries dissolved by the violent dispersal of pigment. Charred residues and delicate color clouds float across the surface, embodying the artist's exploration of destruction as a generative creative force. The work represents a recent chromatic turn within a decades long practice grounded in gunpowder's simultaneous capacity for precision and unpredictability.

Medium
Gunpowder on canvas
Overall

Notes

White Cube solo presentation of Cai Guo-Qiang at TEFAF New York 2026, Stand 355, Park Avenue Armory, May 14–19, 2026. Made 2025 to 2026. Framed: 154.3 x 124.2 x 7 cm.

For Sale — $400000

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About this work

Cai Guo-Qiang, Blue Bird and Blue Flower, 2026

This monumental canvas captures the artist's signature technique of controlled gunpowder detonation, where explosive force transforms pigment into ephemeral gestural marks. Dominating the composition are concentrated clusters of deep indigo and cobalt blue, radiating outward in organic bursts and halos against a pale cream ground, punctuated by brown and grey scorching. The densest blue concentrations suggest avian or floral forms emerging from the chaos of detonation, their boundaries dissolved by the violent dispersal of pigment. Charred residues and delicate color clouds float across the surface, embodying the artist's exploration of destruction as a generative creative force. The work represents a recent chromatic turn within a decades long practice grounded in gunpowder's simultaneous capacity for precision and unpredictability.

Medium
Gunpowder on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 151.8 x 121.6 cm
Year
2026
Seen at
White Cube, London, United Kingdom

Related themes

Living Artist, Pigment Dispersal, Gunpowder Painting, Canvas Art, Mixed Media, Blue Chip Gallery, Chinese Artist, Destruction Creation, Nature Inspired, Explosive Materials, Abstract Expressionism, Color Field, Gestural Abstraction, Contemporary Painting, Asian Contemporary, Contemporary Art, Controlled Chaos, Monochromatic Blue, Large Scale, Performance Based

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