Rusalka, also the name of Antonin Dvořák’s opera, was the daughter of the Water Goblin, who fell in love with a human Prince from land, yet their love ultimately failed due to vows to her father. The Prince, the human Prince who Rusalka fell in love with, commits suicide to the sea as a dedication to their love.

Huang Rui explains, “Rusalka is the daughter of the ocean, which makes us connected emotionally. I studied the I-Ching, that includes three hexagrams related to water. Water also refers to Women. Dvořák’s stage set takes place at night and many of the songs are sung under the moonlight. Rulsaka was confessing her love to the moon. Her moon is my moon. The set of painting are like the acts of the play. I feel them close to me and to my dreams. I can feel her voice when I feel lonely.”

Huang Rui is one of the pioneers of the Chinese avant-garde art movement, The Stars-Xing Xing, in the 1970s considered a pivotal moment in the development of Chinese contemporary art in the post-Mao era. Huang Rui has exhibited at the Guggenheim in NY, The M+ in HK, and most recently he exhibited at the UCCA Beijing.