From Material Resistance to Signification: The Logic of Meaning-Making in Contemporary Chinese Comprehensive Material Painting

Research on contemporary Chinese comprehensive material painting has long focused on aesthetic qualities or relied on Western modernist frameworks, leaving the mechanism of material-to-symbol transformation under-theorized. This study investigates the generative logic of material meaning through a qualitative cross-case analysis of forty-eight works by twelve Chinese artists, integrating in-depth interviews and visual analysis. Through systematic analysis of images, material operations, and artists’ interpretations, the study proposes a three-stage semiotic mechanism: anchoring, exemplification, and differentiation. Findings demonstrate that material meaning is formed through continuous negotiation between bodily technique and material resistance, mediated by cultural techniques guided by pre-textual schemata. Material attributes are first filtered and anchored, reinforced through embodied operations, and eventually stabilized into stylistic structures articulating cultural identity. This research argues that Chinese comprehensive material painting constitutes a localized mode of cross-cultural symbolic production rooted in indigenous cultural experience and material praxis. Ultimately, it supplies a mechanism-based interpretive framework for this art form while contributing a localized perspective to global discussions on the relationship among subjectivity, materiality, and cultural identity.