Born in Xi'an in 1970, Guo Fengyi was a Chinese artist who created art through meditation. Due to debilitating arthritis, she was forced to leave her factory job at 45 years old. She turned to qigong, an ancient form of Chinese meditation, to help cope with the pain. During this time, she developed a unique interpretation of art. Guo would experience different states of consciousness and rush to draw what she saw in her visions. She wrote that when she meditated, she could see the images that came to her "from a distance". Her pen marks would then scrawl across long lengths of paper scrolls, depicting mythological creatures or complex nervous systems. Although Guo never had any formal art training, she still had an intimate understanding of the connection between art and the human conscience, an important relationship in Chinese culture. Guo's works are currently on display at the Savannah College of Art and Design's Museum of Art in an exhibition named "To See from a Distance".
Created by Elizabeth Bowie. Edited by Kathy Ye.