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All auctions / Arts & Graphics / Yang Yang Mixed Media Painting on Newsprint, Two Abstract Figures
Yang Yang (Chinese-American, b. 1953). Abstract Figures. Mixed media: oil paint and ink on newspaper, n.d. Initialed at upper right. A layered and visceral work, this painting by Yang Yang overlays gestural oil and ink figures onto a ground of printed newspaper. Two intertwined forms, their outlines sketched in looping black lines, emerge from the newsprint substrate, their bodies stained in earthen reds and ochres. The figures are at once corporeal and ephemeral, their presence slipping between material substance and symbolic suggestion. The use of newspaper not only provides a textured, time-stamped surface, but also underscores Yang's ongoing exploration of humanity's fragility against the backdrop of history and daily life. His restless linework and smeared pigment conjure mythic beings caught in flux - part human, part spirit - echoing the artist's long engagement with themes of ambiguity, memory, and transformation. Size of painting: 9.5" W x 7.5" H (24.1 cm x 19 cm); of frame: 13" W x 13" H (33 cm x 33 cm) As with much of Yang's oeuvre, the painting resists definitive interpretation, offering instead an open field where viewers are invited to construct their own narratives. About the artist: Born in 1953 in Nanchang, China, Yang Yang grew up in a household grounded in both engineering and education. His father, Yang Ge, was an engineer and his mother, Qi Hua Ling, a teacher. At age sixteen, Yang encountered the painter Zhu Yu Hu, whose influence would remain profound throughout his life. He later described Zhu not merely as an art teacher but as a mentor who shaped both his artistic foundation and his philosophical outlook. In 1975, Yang graduated from Yichun Teachers College in Jiangxi. He began his teaching career at Xiao Gang High School and later taught at Nanchang Qishanhu School, balancing his duties as a literature instructor with an increasing devotion to art. During this period he also pursued further study at Jiangxi Teachers College, where professors Qixianmu and Zhang Yuanyou left a lasting impact on him - Yang would later call them "soul makers." In 1984, Yang Yang made a pivotal decision: he left China and moved to the United States to deepen his artistic studies. At Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he earned his Master of Arts degree in 1987 and joined the faculty there as an art instructor. His years in the Midwest proved formative, both academically and artistically, and introduced his works to American audiences for the first time. His early exhibitions gained critical attention, with works featured in publications such as "ArtNews," "Interview Magazine," and "Art & Antiques." Yang Yang's art is marked by its mythical landscapes where animals and humans coexist in fluid, ambiguous states. His palette often gravitates toward monochromatic tones, layering texture and form to explore humanity in ways that defy racial or ethnic boundaries. His works provoke interpretation rather than provide resolution. As the artist himself has said: "There is no answer. You just have to think about it. If the artist does not tell the story, there will be a thousand stories." Throughout his career, Yang Yang has exhibited widely across the United States and internationally. He has shown at major institutions such as the Xi'an Art Museum in 2004, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2007, and the ShanDong Art Museum in 2014. His work has been collected by notable institutions including the Mobile Museum of Art and continues to appear at international fairs such as Art Basel, Art Palm Beach, Scope Miami, and Art Hamptons. With more than four decades of work, Yang Yang has cultivated a vision that transcends cultural boundaries. His paintings invite audiences into an illusory world - one where myth, history, and memory intermingle, and where every viewer becomes a storyteller. Item # 196587
Estimate:£132.32
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