MALAGA.- The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga presents Yan Pei-Ming’s first solo show at a Spanish museum. Curated by Fernando Francés, No Comment features 27 paintings by the French artist was born in Shangai. Most of the works are large format and were produced between the beginning of this century and the present day. Yan Pei-Ming is renowned for his use of a limited palette of colours and his portraits of well-known politicians, religious figures and even economists, but he also paints anonymous people who for one reason or another are victims of present-day conflicts. Death and autobiographical details are recurring motifs in his work. In addition to the works on display at CAC Málaga, one of the paintings from the exhibition will be shown at Málaga Cathedral, which will be the first time that this religious space has ever been used as a venue for art. The first artist of Chinese origin to expos in the Louvre. He lives and works in Dijon, France.
Yan Pei-Ming (Shanghai, 1960) defines himself as an artist “with roots, but above all with wings”. No comment will feature 27 works by the French painter was born in France and will be his first solo show at a Spanish museum. His paintings—most of them large format—are characterised by thick, violent strokes on the canvas and a sparse use of colours, limited to black, white and red. The artist paints portraits of prominent politicians, economists and religious figures, although some of his subjects are unknown or anonymous.
As Fernando Francés, director of CAC Málaga, explains: “(…)Yan Pei-Ming shows these uncomfortable, universal truths in his portraits. Sometimes he disguises them as historical figures, and in other cases they are portraits of anonymous individuals whose vacant stares speak of shared tragedies. The artist has taken traditional beliefs about painting to a whole new level. His violent strokes on the canvas seem to be the perfect excuse for disowning all that he hates, all that he wants to forsake and eradicate, dredging up and venting that which he wants to avoid. Using resources sparingly, he masterfully weaves an intricate discourse full of ragged edges and interpretations. His oeuvre evinces an obsession with death, a theme that has filled countless tomes of history, philosophy and literature and has been a pervasive presence in the visual arts, from the earliest paintings and sculptures of Antiquity to the present day. However, for Yan Pei-Ming death is not a tragic theme. He knows it to be inevitable and universal—in other words, no one can avoid it. With this premise, he fearlessly sets out to portray lifeless faces. Sometimes the subjects are well-known personalities (Mao Zedong’s Remain, 2001), at others they are anonymous individuals (Chambre froide, 2003), and in one case he even painted a portrait of his dead father (Père de l’artiste à la morgue, 2004).”
In spite of his origins, Yan Pei-Ming avoids being categorised as an artist influenced by a specific country or culture. In fact, to fulfil his dream of becoming a painter he had to leave his native country in 1980, at the age of 22, and take up residence in France. From that point on, he began to explore the potential of painting in the current context and to reinvent the portrait as a means of capturing the essence of the people represented. He deliberately steers clear of colour so as not to distract the viewer’s gaze, appealing instead to the senses. Works like Exécution, après Goya (2008) reinterpret the Spanish painter’s famous The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid (1814), but include elements such as the use of red, one of the colours that the artist defines as “violent”.
The references to the Aragonese painter are in fact a homage that the artist pays to Goya. Both artists are chroniclers of difficult times, in certain cases showing the more unpleasant and lesser known aspects of the past and recent events they have witnessed, such as ongoing armed conflicts (Char, 2013) or the economic crisis (Portrait de Bernard Madoff, 2009). Yan Pei-Ming sees his painting as a way of turning a spotlight on these and other problems that stem from the permanent wars that rage in certain countries. His portraits of the orphaned children who are the victims of these conflicts (Lebanese Child, 2006) are a case in point.
Another subject in Yan Pei-Ming’s portraiture is Mao Zedong, a figure present in his daily life since childhood. With regard to death and autobiographical themes, the artist has featured his dead father in several of his works, appears as a lifeless form in his self-portrait, and in other works has simulated his own crucifixion. Death is a recurring motif in his oeuvre, as something inevitable from which no one can escape.
Religion is another topic that the painter has examined in his work. In addition to the crucifixion, his portraits of different popes, as the visible figureheads of Catholicism, reveal his attitude to this religion. Pape (2004) will be shown at Málaga Cathedral at the express request of the artist.
Yan Pei-Ming grew up in Shanghai and moved to France in 1980. He studied at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Dijon. His most recent exhibitions include Landscape of Childhood, UCCA, Beijing (2009); Les Funérailles de Monna Lisa, Musée du Louvre, Paris (2009); Yes, San Francisco, California (2009); Yan Pei-Ming with Yan Pei-Ming, GAMeC, Bergamo (2008); Life Souvenir, Des Moines Art Center, Iowa (2008); You maintain a sense of balance in the midst of great success, David Zwinner, New York (2007); The Yan Pei-Ming Show, Galleria Massimo De Carlo, Milan (2007); and Exécution, Musée d’Art Moderne, Saint-Etienne (2006). He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, such as Moi ! Autoportraits du XXe siècle, Musée du Luxembourg, Paris (2004); New Zone-Chinese Art, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland (2003); the Venice Biennale (2003 and 1995), and the Lyon Biennale (2000 and 1997). He lives and works between Dijon and Ivry-sur-Seine.
