MASSIMODECARLO presents the latest solo exhibition “Boldness in Silence” by Chinese artist Yan Ping. As one of the most influential female painters in China, Yan Ping’s artistic career holds deep historical significance. She has experienced the unique periods of China’s social development and the hardships of living in the countryside during the early 1970s. What sets her apart is her optimistic and open-minded attitude towards the difficult and sorrowful times. This carefree state undoubtedly runs through her series of works in different stages, stemming from her personal life experiences and observations of Chinese social life.
The exhibition work “Wings in the Heart” is Yan Ping’s latest creation. “In the deep summer, when I went to the studio in the small town and saw the blooming flowers in the courtyard, at that moment, the roaring sound of everything merging together disappeared into the sky. A quiet world, with only the wonder of blooming flowers in my eyes, and the stretching of branches and vines in my ears. The fragrance of flowers permeating the entire sky makes me only think about painting, with things like the Russo-Ukrainian situation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and nucleic acid testing all fading away. The branches and vines in the garden are competing with each other to rise, and because they are adorned with leaves and flowers on the branches, they bend slightly, like the invisible wings in my heart.”
The creative experience in this state forms an interesting contrast with her work “Butterflies are Free” created in 2014. This is a self-portrait, where the artist uses a butterfly emerging from a broken cocoon as a symbol of herself, depicting the various ways she has chosen a life of freedom in the past, despite the limitations.
Yanping’s creative process often involves using models, which is her preferred way of painting. At the same time, her observation and capture of these models’ movements directly influence the themes of her works. Created in 2016, “In the Studio in Greece” depicts the scene of her sketching in a rented studio during a study trip to Greece before the pandemic. The unique atmosphere of the local models in the painting inspired her with a different creative inspiration.
In Yan Ping’s works such as “The Boy Leading the Horse” and “On the Top of the Mountain”, he uses heavy ink lines, which create a sense of boldness and elegance, conveying the essence of Chinese calligraphy. At the same time, they also have exaggerated spatial arrangements, where figures and spaces seem to be distorted into a dreamlike state, exuding a surreal imagination.
In this exhibition, four floral works set the tone of the entire exhibition in a lively and joyful manner, with distinct brushstrokes intertwining in short and long strokes. Bright colors, the entanglement of sapphire blue and pink, are filled with hope, freedom, and a sense of liberation. Yan Ping describes it as follows: “Every time I paint flowers, it is a cleansing of the soul. In the past years, when I am unhappy or mentally exhausted, I would buy a big bunch of flowers for myself, temporarily isolating myself from the outside world and staying with the flowers, feeling the secrets of time and feeling safe.”
Date: From now until December 10, 2022
Time: 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM
Location: 2/F, Block 03-205 & 206, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Image source and learn more: MASSIMODECARLO
