Tai Shan Schierenberg A Chinese Scene in an English Garden, 2026

I've recently started to enjoy mismatching cultural tropes that are seemingly specific to one culture, with another. I suppose it illustrates how I feel about being of mixed white and Asian heritage. A scene like this appeared on an early morning walk on Hampstead Heath in London and struck an emotional chord which I tried to conjure up again in this piece. In traditional Chinese landscape paintings, the birds are predominantly Cranes, denoting longevity and wisdom. The Heron in English folklore denotes patience and nobility, not so different after all. -Tai Shan Schierenberg, 2026