1 May 24 June 2017 15 Carlos Place, London W1K 2EX T +44 20 7409 3344 mail@timothytaylor.com timothytaylor.com
1 May 24 June 2017 Timothy Taylor is honoured to announce Ding Yi s first solo exhibition in London. Continuing his ongoing investigation, Appearance of Crosses, this show will present seven never-before seen paintings. As one of today s preeminent Chinese contemporary artists Ding Yi s work employs a distinctive language of markmaking to examine the function of abstract painting both as a personal form of expression and meditation, as well as a channel through which to consider the rapid socio-political developments of 20 th century China. The seven paintings on show form part of a recently defined new body of work. The series is characterised by an intuitive development in the artist s practice - the creation of a sensitive and reactive relationship between woodcut and painting. Borne out of Ding Yi s rigorous investigation of materiality, this distinctive new technique allows the artist to imbue his paintings with an even greater sense of space, depth and time, as well as a heightened sensuousness and physicality. Ding Yi states that Appearance of Crosses is an ever evolving sequence in which composition changes gradually from geometrical to dispersive. Born, raised and educated in Shanghai, Ding Yi continually draws inspiration from the city s physical and philosophical framework. His works are defined both by a language of x s and + s as well as by their grid structure, initially reflective of the fluid architectural milieu of late 1980s Shanghai. Ding Yi s tenacious practice operates within a completely self-contained system that avoids social metaphors, while simultaneously observing urbanization and the vast and rapid transformations of contemporary Chinese society. The first Appearance of Crosses painting was created in 1988 and Ding Yi was considered a part of the important nationwide avant-garde movement of the time, 85 New Wave, as coined by curator and critic Gao Minglu. This was the first contemporary Art Movement that broke away from traditional Chinese aesthetics and represented progressive thought, and the historic importance of this specific moment in China would inevitably influence Ding Yi s work for decades to come. Ding Yi s international recognition continues to grow with recent solo exhibitions at Galerie Urs Meile, Switzerland, Ikon Gallery, United Kingdom, Karsten Greve, France/ Switzerland, Museo d Arte Moderna de Bologna, Italy, and most recently, his inclusion in the 2016 edition of Art Basel Unlimited. Notable recent solo exhibitions in China have taken place at Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, Long Museum, Shanghai, Changsha City Museum, Changsha, and Minsheng Museum of Art, Shanghai.
Appearance of Crosses 2016-4, 2016 Mixed media on basswood 94 1/2 94 1/2 in. 240 240 cm T0010893
Appearance of Crosses 2016-5, 2016 Mixed media on basswood 94 1/2 94 1/2 in. 240 240 cm T0010894
Appearance of Crosses 2016-6, 2016 Mixed media on basswood 94 1/2 94 1/2 in. 240 240 cm T0010895
Appearance of Crosses 2016-7, 2016 Mixed media on basswood 94 1/2 94 1/2 in. 240 240 cm T0010896
Appearance of Crosses 2016-8, 2016 Mixed media on basswood 94 1/2 94 1/2 in. 240 240 cm T0010897
Appearance of Crosses 2016-9, 2016 Mixed media on basswood 94 1/2 94 1/2 in. 240 240 cm T0010898
Appearance of Crosses 2016-10, 2016 Mixed media on basswood 94 1/2 94 1/2 in. 240 240 cm T0010899
Biography 1962 Born in Shanghai, China 1983 Graduates from Shanghai Arts & Crafts Institute, China 1990 Graduates from Shanghai University, Fine Arts Department 2005 Works at Shanghai Institute of Visual Art, as professor, currently vice dean of Fine Art Department Selected Solo Exhibitions 2016 Re-Appearance of Crosses, Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, Hubei, China 2015 Ding Yi: What s Left to Appear, Long Museum (West Bund), Shanghai, China Ivory Black, ShanghART Singapore, Singapore 2014 Scintillement, Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France 2013 2013 Art Changsha, Changsha City Museum, Hunan Province, China 2012 Appearance of Crosses, Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland 2011 Specific Abstracted, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China Ding Yi, Appearance of Crosses, Galerie Waldburger, Brussels, Belgium 2008 Ding Yi, Recent Works, Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany Appearance of Crosses from 1989-2007, Museo d Arte Moderna di Bologna, Bologna, Italy 2007 Ding Yi, Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France 2006 Graticule, Ding Yi s Works from 1989 to 2006, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai, China 2005 Appearance of Crosses, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK 2004 Crossed Vision, China Art Archive & Warehouse, Beijing, China Small Works, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai, China 2003 Appearance of Crosses, Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland
2002 Ding Yi: Appearance of Crosses, Galerie Waldburger, Berlin, Germany 2000 Ding Yi: Fluorescent Paint on Tartan, China Art Archive & Warehouse, Beijing, China 1998 Ding Yi: Crosses 89-97, International Art Palace, Beijing, China 1997 Ding Yi: Crosses 97, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China 1996 15 x Red, New Works on Paper by Ding Yi, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai, China 1995 Ding Yi: Opere su Carta, Galleria degli Archi, Comiso, Italy 1994 Exhibition of Ding Yi s Abstract Art Works, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China Ding Yi s Work on Paper, Guangzhou Fine Art Academy, Guangzhou, China Selected Awards, Prizes, Grants and Honours 2011 Silver Award of Shanghai Design Exhibition 2001 Artist in Residence, Kuenstlerhauser Worpswede, Germany Selected Public and Private Collections Centre Pompidou, Paris, France Daimler Art Collection, Berlin, Germany DSL Collection, Beijing Fosun Foundation, New York, USA Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan HAUDENSCHILD Collection, California, USA Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea Long Museum, Shanghai Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai Uli Sigg Collection, Switzerland Yuz Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia
1 May 24 June 2017 15 Carlos Place, London W1K 2EX T +44 20 7409 3344 mail@timothytaylor.com timothytaylor.com