Upcoming | J. Yang

J.Yang

2022.08.05-09.17

Curated by Zhang Yingying

Magician Space is honored to present the J.Yang Painting Exhibition on August 5, 2022, curated by Zhang Yingying.

This exhibition is majority paintings. Artist J.Yang (Yang Jun), with his unique attitude of disregarding "style" as a creative standard, he introduces art into the expression of a personal worldview. From the window billboards to the logo-style exhibition titles, mirrors, wall colors, the "Painting-Skin" curtain, lighting, eye-catching names of works, and fragrance, the sentiments of the works permeate the entire space.

"J.Yang" is both the pinyin abbreviation of the artist's name and the title of the exhibition. It is both a logo and an exhibition label. The artist believes that the best way to decentralize is to break the identity of things themselves, which means that among a series of self-experimentation, the artist is subject to a certain "label" at this time.

J.Yang's paintings have complex structures. They have varied lines and colors and have diverse themes. There are often descriptions of materiality, narrative, and theatricality in his creations. He integrates imaginations and daily emotions through artistic media and styles. (His works) embody his identity between borders, intergenerational knowledge structures, and a deep oriental thinking and cognition— all of which shape the unique cultural state of his work. J.Yang always pursues a whole— something non-individualist, non-uniform, ever-changing, and panoptic.

The exhibition presents the artist's pursuit of personality rather than style. Many of J.Yang's works do not point to a clear critique but are full of optimistic outlooks in terms of both content and attributes of the works. His paintings are saturated with plentiful personality and the imagination of freedom. His stage life in his youth brings a unique perception of his artistic language, especially his passion for conveying narrative and theatricality later on.

His paintings are open, multi-dimensional spaces, spanning across ancient China and the West in the contemporary age. From realism to philosophical situations, from caring for minor characters to advocating metaphysical ideas, these all become logical in J.Yang’s works. Filled with diverse cultural and visual elements, his images are explosive, provocative, and alluring.

In this exhibition, the curator combines the explosive pictorial elements and the well-proportioned space created by the "Painting-Skin." In the scented summer exhibition space, against the backdrop of a violet palette that is both warm and tempting, (this exhibition) can perhaps let the audience fall in love with the art at first sight.

"Art should be the most unreal thing in the world, you need to keep telling yourself."

— J.Yang

About the Artist

J.Yang, born in China in the 1960s and lived in Europe since the 1990s. He was a participant in the first contemporary art exhibition in China and a participant in the 1995 Venice Biennale Asia Exhibition. His works present a self-contained and logical artistic narrative using varied media and forms. For Yang, art is just a tool for expressing themes. Its purpose lies in using it to locate the interacting forces between history, mythology, and reality, finding sources of secular faith. Apart from paintings, he also works with photography, installation, and video art. With an attitude of free individualism and humanitarian care, he seeks a cultural balance among known dimensions. 

He had held solo exhibitions at Duoyunxuan, Shanghai, China, 2018; EinStein Gallery,  Großziethen, Germany, 2001; German-Chinese Cultural Exchange Center, Berlin, Germany, 1995; Embassy of Germany in Beijing, Beijing, China, 1993; Doctor Gallery, Leverkusen, Germany, 1992; C.J.F.A. Gallery, Beijing, China, 1991. His group exhibitions include: "1st International Digital Printmaking Exhibition", Changsha Normal University Art Museum, Hunan, China, 2021; "Co-Constructing", Suzhou Jinji Lake Art Museum, Suzhou, China, 2020; "Vitality of Variables", Hao Art Museum, Wenzhou, China, 2020; "1 & 一", Gallery Weekend Beijing 2019, 798 Art District, Beijing, China, 2019; "Flickering Boundaries", Madein Gallery, Shanghai, China, 2017; "Chinese Artists Living in MEZ", Kunstfabrik, Berlin, Germany, 2001; "A Planetary Reply for the World", São Paulo, Brazil, 1998; "Chinese Avant-Garde Art Project Exhibition", Q Galley, Tokyo, Japan, 1996; "Contemporary Art from the Far East", Venice, Italy, 1995; "New Asian Art Show–1995: Chian, Koera, Japan-Now a Dream of East", Kilin Plaza Osaka，Osaka & Tokyo, Japan, 1995; "The End of the Journeys", Gallery A & O, Berlin / Produzenten Gallery, Kassel, Germany, 1994; "93'COM-ART SHOW - Now, Dream of Eas", Seoul, South Korea, 1993; "Six Artists in the Exhibition", Hall of the C.J.F.A., Beijing, China, 1990; "89’China / Avant-garde", The China Art Museum, Beijing, China, 1989.

About the Curator

Zhang Yingying, curator and writer. She has long been interested in Documenta (Kassel), a selected curator for the "Emerging Curators Projects 2019" at the Power Station of Art (Shanghai), and editor of the ARTLINKART contemporary database.

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