Yunxiang Gao Plays “Ambush on All Sides” for Pipa focuses in part on how technical movements can demonstrate knowledge. The featured composition “Ambush on All Sides” for the Chinese lute, depicts an epic battle in 202 BC during the Warring States period in China, and the song is attributed to no individual composer and has no date of composition. It had historically been maintained solely by oral tradition and demonstration as part of the martial style repertoire, until the first version of its musical score was documented in the 1800’s.

Kuan Hwa works with various media to question the paradigms of aesthetics with regard to globalism and historical memory. He has previously shown installations and performance work in Japan, Italy, and here in the US, and holds BA degrees in World Literature and Studio Art from UCLA. He is currently in the MFA program at UC Irvine with an emphasis in Critical Theory.

Curated by Jesse Aron Green