Richmond BC, Canada #richmondartgallerybc
Artist Talk and Tour: September 13, 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Opening reception: September 13, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
In this meditative installation, Ontario artist, Xiaojing Yan, navigates natural and cultural realms deeply grounded in Chinese philosophies, myths and folklore. Combining two bodies of work that derive from classical Chinese ink wash painting and portrait sculpture, Yan’s poetic explorations delve into the meaning of spirituality and the transformation of self. Yan draws on personal experience from her earlier life in China and eventual immigration to Canada in reimagining these traditional visual languages through a contemporary perspective. Inspired by the utopian scenes depicted in traditional Shan Shui paintings, Yan assembles a contemplative landscape charged with symbolism. The immersive environment suggests existential states of suspension and becoming – junctures that were relevant hundreds of years ago and still have meaning today.
About the Artist:
Born in Jiangsu, China, Xiaojing Yan works and lives in Markham, ON. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including: Suzhou Museum, China; Varley Art Gallery, Markham; Katzman Contemporary, Toronto; Mississauga Art Gallery, Mississauga; Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto; TRUCK Contemporary Art, Calgary; Plug In Contemporary, Winnipeg; and Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey. Public art projects include: Cloudscape in collection for Seneca College at Newnham Campus, Toronto; Moon Gate, commissioned by Jinji Lake Art Museum, Suzhou, China; and Sound of the Rain, recently commissioned by Elora Centre for the Arts. Yan holds an MFA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA.
