Chinese, b. 1969

Originally born in China, Cao moved to the United States with his family in the 1980s. Today, he works and lives in New York City. Cao’s most recent series of images are monumentally-sized pixilated images of well-known celebrities and historical figures. The familiar images are easily recognized but not so easily taken in.

At first demanding distance, the monumental image pushes the viewer away. One is quickly drawn in close, however, by the pixels, which are iconic images in themselves. Jackie makes up JFK, the Mona Lisa composes Marilyn Monroe, Courbet’s L’Origine du Monde becomes Pamela Anderson. The dialogue between the two images presents another layer to be deciphered. In some cases, carefully chosen codes and clues are inserted in strategic locations as a reminder of the events and situations in which these characters were involved.

The histories and backgrounds of each of the characters are deliberately pitted against each other. Marilyn Monroe is composed of tiny images of the Mona Lisa. These two women are, arguably, the most famous women in the world. They share an unusual bond in that they are both, in some ways, fictional characters. They are both fantasies; one is the fantasy of the 20th century, the other the singular fantasy and imagination of DaVinci which has lived on into the present day.

Cao’s study of the Western world’s antiquity and travels in Italy greatly impacted how Cao views the world—thus Cao uses his understanding of the West’s ancient past as a lens through which he views our world today. The ideal forms and proportions of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sculpture and the mosaics on the floors and walls in Naples and Pompeii had an especially great impact on him. From these two ancient forms, Cao finds a means of expressing the phenomenon of celebrity through the decidedly modern medium of photography.
Ultimately the goal of this series is the encoding and layering of information. As time passes, the images accumulate information in addition to the artist’s original intent. They undergo evolution and change and bear the marks of history.

EXHIBITIONS:
Apr 6 – May 20, 2016, Spring Group Exhibition, New York, NY
Jan 19 – Mar 13, 2015, Winter Group Show, New York, NY
Nov 28, 2014 – Jan 5, 2015, Important Photographs: 1930’s-Today, New York, NY
Sept 26 – Oct 13, 2014, Icons of Photography, Nantucket, MA
Feb 10 – Mar 10, 2014, Captured: A Group Photography Show, Greenwich, CT
Jul 1 – Sept 8, 2014, Summer Group Show, Greenwich, CT
Nov 26 – Dec 25, 2013, Small Works Online Exhibition and Sale,
Nov 18 – Dec 31, 2013, Fall Group Show, Greenwich, CT
Mar 1 – Mar 25, 2013, Alex Guofeng Cao: Masters Redfined, Greenwich, CT
Jun 1 – Sep 3, 2012, Summer Group Show, Greenwich, CT
Mar 22 – Apr 16, 2012, Spring Group Show, Greenwich, CT
Mar 2 – Mar 20, 2012, Black & White, Greenwich, CT
Jan 1 – Feb 28, 2012 , Group Exhibition: Recent Works by Gallery Artists, Greenwich, CT
Apr 1 – Apr 15, 2011, PHOTOGRAPHY: Group Exhibition, Greenwich, CT

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS:
Museum of Boca Raton: MARILYN vs MONALISA , Boca Ration, FL
American Museum of Asmat Art: MIILES vs MILES , St. Thomas University, MN
Flint Museum: JACKIE vs KENNEDY , Flint, MI
Portland Art Museum: PRINCESS DIANA vs PRINCESS GRACE, Portland, OR
Naples Museum of Art: MARILYN vs BARDOT, Naples, FL
Heckscher Museum: IDENTITY CRISIS, showing with Andy Warhol, Vik Muniz, Rauschenberg, Corot, Corbet, etc., New York, NY

REVIEWS AND ARTICLES:
Jan 28, 2011, Los Angeles Times
Dec 2, 2010, The Miami Herald by Hannah Sampson
May 3, 2010, Art in America by Paul Laster
Jan 15, 2010, Daily News LA
May 1, 2010, Chicago Sun-Times by Tom Cruze
May 9, 2010, NY Art Beat
May 6, 2010, Asian in NY

ESSAYS:
The Big Picture’s Small Parts, by Jonathan Goodman
Decompose/Recompose: A Digital Resurrection, by Beth E. Wilson