Yan Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of calligraphy, by renowned Chinese artist Yang Mingyi. Yang Mingyi is well known for his expressive ink and colour paintings of his hometown area of Suzhou. Recently, however, he has been concentrating on creating calligraphic works, which have started to arouse the interest of collectors and art lovers alike. Ever since Yang Mingyi was a child he has been practicing calligraphy. Even after becoming a professional painter he continued to spend an hour a day mastering the art of his brush work. This has involved studying the calligraphy of the ancient masters. Although developing a great love of their work, he also felt that by studying and copying their works he was beginning to lose his own creativity and style. Eventually he decided to break free from the rigid dictates and rules of calligraphy and create his own unique style. In his work Mingyi alters the structure of Chinese characters in order to stress their pictorial meaning. What he writes is his understanding of a sentence from classic poetry, but also an artistic expression of its meaning. His calligraphy is therefore fresh and innovative and is able to appeal to both Chinese and non Chinese speakers. Some of his pieces are simple and to the point, like the work “True Love”, which depicts a very feminine looking character for “love”. Other works are more complex, but each one conveys a rousing message; some witty, some more profound. Deciphering the characters adds a fun element to his works. Similar to Wu Guanzhong’s calligraphic works in his later years, Yang has created a distinct style of his own, the works are visually dramatic and intellectually appealing. Yang Mingyi graduated in 1962 from the Suzhou Arts and Crafts Institute. In 1987 he went to America to study and graduated from the Art Students League of New York. His works have been collected by major museums around the world including the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Art Gallery of China. He has held over 30 one-man shows both at home and overseas in Asia, the Americas and Europe.