Chinese-born, Houston-based artist Gao Hang has released a new limited edition screen print in collaboration with Exhibition A. It’s Getting Serious (2024) features a glitchy depiction of a man presumably playing basketball in a neon green top and armband. Hang’s comical aesthetic is intended to conjure up the now dated video game graphics of the mid-to-late ’90s, having described his practice in the past as a form of “standup comedy.”
Beneath the humorous veneer of his work, however, the artist explores digital images from the end of the 20th century as found objects, denoting the interplay in technological advancement and the raw oddity of the past with the present. “Gao views his art as a complex dialogue that, much like comedy, navigates through brutal honesty, absurdity, and humor to engage with its audience,” wrote Exhibition A.
His approach is both personal, but like comedy, “pushes the boundaries of political correctness and societal beliefs, but also underscores the essence of his creative exploration — balancing between critique and celebration of digital culture’s impact on contemporary art.”
Limited to an edition of 35, plus 3APs and 2PPs, It’s Getting Serious (2024) is a one color silkscreen print hand-finished with airbrush high-flow acrylic fluorescent green paint on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper. Collectors looking to purchase, the artwork is available unframed ($550 USD) and framed ($855).
