Life's work returns to roots

During his time in Paris, Vigas engaged in diverse cultural exchanges, which prompted him to reflect on his Latin American identity while also absorbing the influence of his contemporaries. Jiang explains that the works from this period first bring to mind Mondrianesque geometric structures. Still, their graphic sources may also point to ancient Venezuelan ruins, rock paintings and primitive stone carvings.

In the 1960s, Vigas returned to Venezuela and reintroduced human figures, animals, Latin American mythology, and folklore into his works, while continuing to use the modernist formal language he had mastered.

Catherine Kwai, founder of Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, a co-organizer of this exhibition, believes that Vigas truly matured only after experiencing the West and returning to his roots.

"His artistic language is highly international, yet it preserves a very strong local culture, and the combination does not feel traditional or closed off," says Kwai.

In the artist's last two decades, his paintings became increasingly simple, with more direct lines. Animals, humans, and certain unnameable life forms reappeared. At times they resemble monsters casually drawn by children; at other times, they evoke figures on cave walls from tens of thousands of years ago.

According to Kwai, in Vigas' later years, the artist achieved a kind of freedom in which he no longer needed to prove anything — he became like a child, full of playfulness and humor.

Jiang says that introducing Vigas' works to a Chinese audience fosters a cultural synthesis that reflects both global and localized perspectives.

Vigas' son, Lorenzo Vigas, says that his father had always admired China and was an enthusiastic student of Chinese history and traditional culture.

"My father felt that there is a connection between Asia and South America that people have not truly recognized. Through observing and studying ancient Chinese traditions, he could see many commonalities with Latin American traditions."