James Cohan Gallery Shanghai is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by three Chinese artists: Huang Yuanqing, Ouyang Chun and Shi Zhiying.

“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” Oscar Wilde once wrote. The three painters in the exhibition share something in common with Wilde’s statement, as each of their dynamic and diverse style bridge the physical and cerebral world.

A unique and leading figure of abstract art in China, Huang Yuanqing integrates Eastern and Western techniques and approaches to abstract painting. Skilled as a calligrapher, Huang’s paintings take a contemporary literati position, working from the traditional concept that painting and calligraphy stem from the same source. Guided by line, profuse layers of color and textures, Huang’s intuitive language emerges slowly, appearing flexible and yet precise, guided by a rhythmic intelligence leading each resulting work. Contrary to the principles of calligraphy, however, Huang’s paintings are created over a period of time, sometimes taking months or even years, suspending his process and output, and thus allowing time to play a critical and essential role in the completion of a finished work.

Ouyang Chun is well known for his subconscious investigations and diary-style narration. “Much of the time,” the artist has stated, “I’m painting to explain myself, not simply to explain the painting process.” Ouyang depicts urban and social life with a critical and sometimes mischievous eye. His paintings feel closer to outsider art, connected to folklore, and are often based on the idea of excess and accumulation. A network of images and objects fuse, seemingly random, but embody their own symbolic power, order, and universal significance. No image or object is taken for granted. Like many of the artists of his generation, he discarded political themes early in his development, seeking the greater potential in self-expression and personal psychology. The world of children, kings and queens, whales, mythological legends of the world and all who inhabit it, are central to Quyang’s works that consciously avoid any definitive style, giving free rein to the inner world of the artist.

In contrast to the other two artists, Shi Zhiying is known for her stark black and white oil paintings of vast monochromatic vistas of the sea, endless landscapes of scattered rocks, traditional sand gardens, and intricate blades of grass. Shi’s paintings are deeply visceral and contemplative, and summon intense reflection on individuality and the passage of time. The featured work in this exhibition is the painting The Infinite Lawn, which was the pivotal work in her solo exhibition at the Shanghai gallery last year. Shi will have her first solo exhibition at James Cohan Gallery in New York this month, where she will debut her latest body of work, The Relics, inspired by the artist’s travels in China, Cambodia, and India.

Image: © Shi Zhiying, James Cohan Gallery