One of the kindest people I have met in Beijing so far is Lily (高丽), who works at Yan Club gallery in 798. Lily basically runs everything at Yan Club–a beautiful gallery and events space where the Beijing 48 Hour Film Festival was held earlier this year. She gave me a tour of the space (which at the time held a group show of video artists from Europe and the US as part of the 798 Biennial) and very sweetly offered me a pick of the publications Yan Club has produced from their previous exhibitions. After much perusing, I decided on the melodramatically-titled, but strongly compelling “The End of the World and the Grim Fairyland,” (世界尽头与冷酷仙境) )a book of paintings by young Chinese artist Liu Ye(刘也).
The End of the World and Grim Fairyland Part 1, 2007
Liu Ye’s work is unlike that of so many Chinese artists of his generation (Unbelievably, Liu was born in 1984, which just makes me feel like the least talented, laziest person on the planet…) who adhere to a more deliberately political, boldy satirical aesthetic. Unlike these artists who riff on popular advertising and draw from Japanese cartoon influences, Liu’s work is subtle in its politics and poetically muted in both its conception and execution.
Belief No. 1, 2008
Liu’s work represents a unique direction in the art of a certain generation of Chinese. Something about his side by side rendering of international icons and anonymous architectural bodies begs up some very mature questions about what it means to be global, to be at home in the world.
The Day After Tomorrow-Sydney Opera, 2007
There’s certainly a maudlin slant to Liu’s apocalyptic view of the world as he paints the destruction of the world’s structures on a literal world stage, but not quite everything falls apart. His style of painting is bold and enduring; the images are crumbling, fading.
A tree in front of the door, 2007
Some pieces of art are stories and others are poems. In an arts culture where many artists are focused not only on stories, but also stores, it’s remarkable to see this kind of poetry. Traditional Chinese paintings and poetry, particularly from the Tang Dynasty, have always focused on nature and the passage of time. In this legacy, Liu is typically Chinese–drawing on the oldest of Chinese themes to inform his work, but there is also something futuristic about these images. In these paintings, we see what is beyond society, beyond globalism, beyond cultural politics, beyond what we have the power to build.
Liu Ye says: “The West has already finished building its gravestones…Developing countries are going on building their gravestones, continuously trying to progress…If you have a look at both of the works together, you will witness the cyclical nature of history.”
The End of the World and Grim Fairyland No. 4, 2007
Liu Ye’s exhibition at Yan Club in 2008 was, I believe, his most recent in China. Lily tells me he currently has a fellowship at Art University in Kassel, Germany. He should not be confused with Beijing-born artist Liu Ye (刘 野), whose portraits can be seen here: http://www.artnet.com/artist/10616/liu-ye.html
More on Liu Ye and Yan Club: http://www.yanclub.com/wwwsite/liuye.html#
UPDATE: Because today is the day many new exhibitions open at 798, I went by Yan Club to check out their new show. Lo and behold, their new group show features several paintings by Liu Ye! I was so thrilled to see his work in person (particularly A tree in front of the door, featured above), as well as many other artists including Shen Dapeng (also insanely young–born in 1983!), Liu Baomin, and Rao Songqing. More on these artists later, no doubt. If anyone reading this is actually in Beijing, definitely head to Yan Club and check it out!
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