ShanghART Gallery is pleased to present Ivory Black: Ding Yi Solo Exhibition from 22nd January to 15th March 2015. The exhibition will be the widely acclaimed Chinese Contemporary Artist Ding Yi’s first solo in South East Asia, showcasing 11 paintings from his signature series - Appearance of Crosses, 1 installation and a public art sculpture. Ding Yi and National Heritage Board, Group Director for Programmes Mr. Tan Boon Hui will conduct a dialogue session on public art sculpture at Art Stage Singapore 2015 while an exclusive collectors luncheon will be held on 21st January with Ding Yi and Platform Projects Ltd. 

DING Yi is today regarded as the forerunner of internationally acclaimed Chinese abstract artists. In his recent installation work, he explores the existence of unforeseen natural phenomenon. The installation – Flying Stone seems to be a metaphor of infinite matter, demonstrating the precariousness of reality and the mystical galaxy. Known for his systematic compositions and variations of the same motifs ‘+’ and ‘x’, the work is multiplications and proliferation of these two simple brush-stroked gestures. The overlapping of ‘+’ and ‘x’ creates an interesting surface that is constantly oscillation between the flatness and pictorial depth, a kind of tension between movements in two dimensions that becomes a complex three dimensional system. Ding Yi uses his cross-shaped symbols to interpret the strength of the Chinese spirit in this state of flux. 

The consistent formal element of the cross in the work embodies a complex interplay of precision and dynamics. Like in Chinese calligraphy, Ding Yi’s mark connotes a certain correlation between the order of the universe and that of the human. The awakening of the individual in relation to the collective whole, present in Zen practices such as calligraphy, mirrors the role the artist holds in his own art making.