Beijing Ginkgo Art Center presented the “Abstract Youth” on the afternoon of April 8, 2018. It brings together the latest creations by 9 young artists including Chen Han, Chen Lin, Gu Yifei, Gong Yisen, Liu Wentao, Wei Yuhang, Ying Jingjing, Yu Xiaoyu, and Zou Qionghui. Prof. Tan Ping, Vice President of China National Academy of Arts serves as the academic chair of the exhibition.
“Abstract” is one of the artistic forms exploring visual extremes which also actually implies a creative path connecting the artists and the viewers’ inner worlds, so that it is considered as the most important code of artistic creation. Since emotion is “abstract”, a viewer’s feeling and perception responds to the abstract elements of emotion when he is touched by “art”. Part of this has been recorded and participating in the establishment of the rational and philosophy, while the rest is maintained in the heart and becomes a force that drives thoughts to mature.
The spectator will be inspired by the creations brought by the nine artists who have participated in the exhibition. These works suggest that present society is changeable and uncertain, while they sensitively direct the spectator to the unease made by uncertainty. Whether it is a perceptual expression or a rational exploration, it has been captured by the sensitive artists and reflected in the works, so that the spectator is impressed and thus he might embarkson a new spiritual journey. The artist Liu Wentao, who was born in the 1970s, presents the drawing “Untitled”. He used pencils to draw the well-proportioned and uneven straight lines and surface on the surface of the canvas, and these interwoven lines and surfaces have created the material duplication, and the light reflected by the lead surface interacts with a variety of three-dimensional geometric structures. It showcases the interaction of light with space using a minimalistic form, while it creates an infinite visual extension within a limited canvas space, continuously exploring the relationship between the visual and psychological sides. The artist Chen Han, who was born in the 1980s, believes that abstract art is a form that discovers the inner harmony, and she used the “1722” series to show the movement and energy through the use of the points, lines and surfaces which are intertwined and conflicting, creating the inner harmony through multiple confrontations. Wassily Kandinsky said that there were the harmony of parallel symmetry and the harmony of multiple confrontations. The second is closer to the inner world than the first one, and Chen Han’s works belong to the second one.
Born in the 1990s, Gong Yisen showcases his work under the title of “Untitled”, the use of bright colors to minimize the colors’ own attributes, in order to challenge the traditional use of colors’ own attributes to perform in colored spaces, to express the structure and the ways of overlapping. He used some three-dimensional graphics to re-combine, part of the graphics were removed, in order to design some graphics that express direct or secret personal feelings and spiritual pursuits. Graduated from the Department of Printmaking, Wei Yuhang was also born in the 1990s. Wei has always created abstract paintings, and he shows the etchings with a geometrical abstract style in the “Abstract Youth”. Each piece is divided into several parts using geometric shapes, filled with sensitive lines and colors. He was used to constantly choosing a color that perfectly expressed his own emotions and status, to tell the spectator about his inner heart. He believes that color is abstract and specific, giving people a macro feeling and also touches their sensitivity.
The nine artists, including the artist who is 30 years older than the one that was born in the 1990s, happened to coincide with the choice of “abstract” as their visual form in the artistic creation. The “abstract” visual language shows diverse creative appearances in both prints and paintings, both three-dimensional installations and graphic spaces, both the mind schema and minimalism. These abstract forms with different visual energies do not only reveal the essence of the present artistic pursuit of differentiation, but also fundamentally breaks through the art formed on an easel which has long been stylized and modeled. Perhaps, we can call the young abstract art aimed at breaking the inherent patterns as young abstract, and we can also call these artists “abstract youth”.
The “Abstract Youth” is presented in Beijing and Shenzhen, two important cities for contemporary Chinese art in the north and south at the same time, and it was on show in Shenzhen Blue Shore Gallery at the end of March, ahead of the Beijing show. It remains on view till May 12.
Text edited by Yang Zhonghui, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO
Photo by Yang Zhonghui/CAFA ART INFO
About the Exhibition
Title: Abstract Youth
Academic Director: Tan Ping
Artists: Chen Han, Chen Lin, Gu Yifei, Gong Yisen, Liu Wentao, Wei Yuhang, Ying Jingjing, Yu Xiaoyu, Zou Qionghui
Venue: Beijing Ginkgo Art Center (No. 40, Xinzhong Street, Workers Stadium, Dongcheng District, Beijing)
Duration: April 8 – May 12, 2018, Monday to Sunday 10:00–22:00
Shenzhen: LAN Gallery
Duration: March 31 – May 12, 2018, Monday to Sunday 10:00–22:00
Location: LAN Gallery (No. 9 Building, 3F, O’PLAZA OCAT Harbor, Nanshan District, Shenzhen)
