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Li Yan, (李燕) B. 1977, Jilin Province, China Li Yan is an oil painting artist, born in Jilin, China in 1977, who lives and works in Beijing, China. Most of Li Yan’s works consist of groups of 25cm paintings based on daily images people see through media. With the use of his delicate colours and the refreshing touch, he draws a wide range of issues derived from violent scenes of war and cruel incidents, to fragments of the most ordinary of lives. The artist cuts the original order of broadcasted information, and rebuilds-up a new group of images like an editor. In doing this he is presenting a more effective way of looking at the original topic. He reconstructs a media subject that is likely to be captured in a fixed way for his own understanding. For Li Yan, reality is something that is always fluid. Therefore, his aim is not to find the ‘truth’. However, personal reality does exist. His approach presents a possible path for each person to find their own truth. Meaning exists on this path itself, if thoughts reach a new sphere and people become aware of their own truth during this process. Li Yan exhibits a group of small works divided by topics. The size of the works is also an important matter. Working on small scales enables a direct and immediate approach to his wellspring of ideas and ultimately, to his images. The images are like scattered fragments, placed regularly, and asymmetrically. They are connecting themselves like bricks constructing a building, together creating one whole concept. All the while, each one of them whispers to us with a strong presence of it's own. Accident Series Li's works are comprised of groups of small canvases to reconstruct disaster scenes as elaborate narratives. The main point of Li Yan’s accident series is to show the microcosmic power of violence in an individual setting. When disaster is portrayed as a whole, Li Yan feels that much of what actually happens is lost to the viewer. For instance, when a news helicopter flies over a burnt down area of a town, the whole picture of the town just looks chaotic, and the viewer only gets a sense of a town burning down. When Li Yan takes a giant disaster, and paints individual parts of the disaster, he feels the actually expression of disaster is portrayed in a better way to the viewer. Yan will paint something as large as

     

©2016  CONSIGG  Ltd.  All  Rights  Reserved     Page  2    

the giant disaster itself, but then also something as small as a room where things have been pushed to the floor. With the combination of these elements, the viewer can almost put themselves in the shoes of someone who is at the actual scene. Education 1998-2002 – Graduated from the 3rd workshop of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts (BA) 2002-2005 – Graduated from the 3rd workshop of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts (MA Solo Exhibitions 2007 Accident, Platform China, Beijing 2008 Quotidian Truths -Paintings by Li Yan, Moronokiang Gallery, Los Angeles 2009 Snippet, Yamamoto Gendai Gallery, Tokyo 2010 Accidents, Gallery Ling, Berlin 2011 The Catastrophic World -A Chinese paints our age, Ling Gallery, Berlin Selected Group Exhibitions 2002 Graduation Exhibition of Eight Fine Arts Academies?Hexiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen 2004 Zhen Xing Northeast Industry District Fine Arts Exhibition?Liaoning Art Museum, Shenyang The 10th National Fine Arts Exhibition—Oil Painting Exhibition, Guangdong Art Museum, Guangdong 2005 The Second Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu Contemporary Art Museum, Chengdu 2007 First Venice Cyber Biennale Beijing Lightning Factory First Exhibition, Beijing lightning factory 2008 Self—experience, Young Artists Group Show, Platform China Beijing China meets Berlin, Emerson Gallery, Berlin Fear, Wedel Fine Art, London The Revolution Continues: New Art From China, Saatchi Gallery London 2009 CHINA URBAN, Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College, Portland

     

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Published ‘Graduation Exhibition of Eight Fine Arts Academies’?Hexiangning Art Museum, 2002 ‘The 10th National Fine Arts Exhibition—Oil Painting Exhibition’, Guangdong Art Museum, 2004 ‘The Second Chengdu Biennale’, Chengdu Contemporary Art Museum, 2005 ‘Accident’, Platform China, Beijing, 2008 ‘The Revolution Continues: New Art From China ’Saatchi Gallery London?2008 ‘CHINA URBAN? Exploring the Historical & Contemporary Chinese City’ Douglas Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College, Portland, 2009 ‘Made in China’ Luciano Benetton Collection, Italy, 2012 Art Fairs Scope Art Fair, London, 2008 Art Beijing, 2011 Art Beijing, 2012 Collection Saatchi Gallery National Gallery in Prague Zdenek Sklenar Gallery (Prague) Yamamoto Gendai Gallery(Tokyo) Luciano Benetton Collection (Italy) Mountain Art Foundation (Tai Wan) Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese (Germany) Platform China (Beijing)