Wu Yang

Wu Yang – Artist Biography

【Bu Xi】presents a group of works I created in the past three years, including oil paintings and installation works. These three years are special. The tension, entanglement, and even anxiety during the epidemic have made this group of works.

For a long time, I have been constantly looking for artistic breakthroughs, turning from exquisite decorativeism to thinking about human nature and self-examination, and taking this exploration as the main line of creation. The images in my works have never been simple visual records, but carriers for expressing emotions, emotions, and constructing false hopes.

Based on my deep thinking about individual experience; confusion about my own identity; questioning the authenticity of memory; blurring the real and illusory worlds…, I have completed a leap on my own artistic path. The name “Bu Xi” expresses wandering and searching, which shows that I am talking to my heart and seeking a balance between spirit and reality…

吴洋 – 简介

【不徙】呈现了我在过去三年中创作的一批作品，包括油画和装置作品。这是特殊的三年，疫情期间的紧张、纠结、甚至是焦虑成就了这批作品。

长期以来我不断地在寻找艺术上的突破、从画面精美的装饰主义转向对人性的思考和自我审视，并将这种探索作为创作的主线。我作品中的图像从来不是简单的视觉记录，而是表达情感、情绪、构建虚望的载体。

我这种基于对个体经验的深刻思考；对自我身份的困惑；对记忆真实性的质疑；对现实与虚幻世界的模糊处理⋯，完成了自身艺术道路上跨越的一步，＂不徙＂这一表述徘徊、寻觅的名字，表现着我在与内心对话、并寻求着精神与现实的平衡⋯

 

BU XI – Paintings and Installation by Wu Yang

 

Opening Reception: November 26, 2024, 6-9pm

 

Lipont Gallery is thrilled to showcase ‘BU XI – Paintings and Installation by Wu Yang, a compelling exhibition of new works by Wu Yang, running from November 26, 2024, to January 3, 2025 (closed Dec 19 – 25 and Jan 1). This unique display features a series of paintings alongside three intricate installations, crafted during a reflective three-year period through the pandemic. These pieces delve deeply into Wu Yang’s introspective view on human nature and her exploration of female identity.

Wu Yang, a multifaceted artist whose career spans several decades and continents, first emerged from the prestigious Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts in 1988. Following a tenure in academia, she ventured to the UK in 1991 to study fashion design, later applying her skills at a fashion company. In 2000, Wu Yang returned to teaching at Renmin University of China’s School of Art, focusing on picture books and illustrations. Her move to Canada in 2006 marked a pivotal shift towards painting, leading to exhibitions across Canada and internationally.

In ‘BU XI,’ Wu Yang’s fascination with fabric—a material she perceives as embodying the virtues of softness, security, beauty, and warmth—resonates throughout her work. This exhibition weaves together themes of strength and vulnerability, juxtaposing hard stones with delicate lace fabric, and vibrant human forms entwined in floral motifs, encapsulated within stone. Through these contrasts, Wu Yang navigates her personal inquiries into identity, the elusive nature of memory, and the overlap between reality and illusion.

The title ‘BU XI’ originates from a phrase in the Tao Te Ching, translating to “no traveling” or “no leaving,” signifying a state of complete contentment with one’s life, requiring no change—a utopian ideal explored by Laozi and a concept that deeply influenced Wu Yang’s creative process during her times of anxiety within the pandemic.

Exhibition Details

Dates: November 26, 2024 – January 3, 2025 (closed Dec 19 – 25, Jan 1, and weekends)

Address: Lipont Gallery, 4211 No. 3 Road Richmond, BC

Hours: Mon-Fri 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesdays until 8 pm.

Admission: Free. Free parking available. Located near Canada Line Aberdeen Station.

 

Please visit https://www.facebook.com/lipontgallery and https://www.instagram.com/lipontgallery/ for more details and updates.

不徙 – 吴洋绘画及装置作品展

 

 

Meditation on the World and the Energy of Art –

Wu Yang’s BU XI Series of Paintings and Installation

 

When encountering artist Wu Yang and her extraordinary artistic creations, I think of a quote by a poet, “A great poet must first be a great poem themselves.” Indeed, artist Wu Yang is gifted. Her colourful life experience, solid literary accomplishment, well-grounded and rich artistic potential have developed her unique, contemporary artistic style, a style that is both calm and full. Appreciating Wu Yang’s works, whether paintings, pastels, illustrations, or installations, I feel a kind of delicate, strong, tough, thick, and gorgeous inner aura and tension through the appearance of the works.

“Xi” (moving, migrating) has multiple meanings. “Bu Xi” (not moving, not migrating) seems to be interpreted as not following the trend and not falling into a rut, “I think, therefore I am.” This is a question about psychological motivation, which is a question raised by artist Wu Yang and intended to be answered.

Since the pandemic, she has experienced anxiety, speculation, and exploration, and has opened a world of hope through artistic cultivation. Sometimes, migration is the beginning of a new life; sometimes, migration is the beginning of the unknown. Immigrant artist Wu Yang came to Vancouver from Beijing and traveled and created between the two cities. In recent years, she has created a series of works such as the Enveloping the Mnemonics installation series, the Icarus Island pastel series, the Résumé installation, and the BU XI series of paintings around themes such as survival, memory, the social role of women, and the function of environmental art, exploring and expressing her meditation on the world and her tireless practice of art.

Wu Yang’s works have never been separated from the use of surreal techniques and multi-media materials. From the early Spirit of the Petal Stone series of oil paintings to the BU XI series, soft textile patterns and hard stones are combined and personified. Stone is one of the oldest artistic media in the history of human civilization. The solid and eternal qualities of stone have made many historical and realistic artworks and buildings use stone as a carrier. Petrification is also the fate of the cursed in Greek mythology, being immobilized and imprisoned. In almost every oil painting of BU XI, there is a petrified body, like a monk, curled up in meditation, thinking hard, trying to become the initiator of his own destiny. Under Wu Yang’s brush, they seem to still have souls, communicate with the viewer and express their worries.

 

 

Wu Yang, The Rock is Me, I am the Rock, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in (91.44 x 91.44 cm), 2023

 

The Rock is Me, I am the Rock expresses the helplessness and struggle of women against self-imprisonment. Part of the reason for the self-imprisonment of the subject comes from the social environment and family education. Losing part of the personality will be frustrating. Can the self-consciousness be moved or not? Can the soul be free and bloom? Wu Yang once again uses the simple and heavy image of stone to metaphorically describe the situation and state of mind of women.

The stones are heavy and dull; the patterns are bright and complex. Accompanying the “stone body” are soft, brightly coloured arms wrapped in beautiful patterns protruding from it. They are hope born out of despair. They care for themselves and embrace themselves; they also seem to be searching for the truth in helplessness, tenaciously and irresistibly struggling to show the inherent tension of life. The beautiful pattern on the surface of the arm is a symbol of femininity. Pattern is logic, pattern is rhythm, pattern is tenderness. Patterns give viewers visual pleasure and spiritual pleasure. In Wu Yang’s works, pattern is a must. As a designer, Wu Yang follows proportions, plans carefully, uses colour schemes wisely, and introduces new ideas, which are the solid foundation of her artistic practice. Starting from the humanistic point of view, she speculates on the authenticity and virtuality of life scripts (fate), giving life to these stone protagonists and letting them tell the story of life. Her depictions of rock textures and rough sand are so realistic that they seem to indicate that life eventually will return to dust.

 

 

Wu Yang, Please Don’t Notice Me, oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches (91.44 x 76.2 cm), 2022

 

Please Don’t Notice Me was created by Wu Yang during the pandemic in 2022. Anxiety about the unknown spread in her heart. The protagonist in the painting seems to be exhausted. During the migration, he arrived at a small ecological environment and faced a choice between the past and the future…

 

 

Wu Yang, Hello Mom (triptych), oil on canvas, 31.5 X 23.6 inches (80 x 60 cm) each, 2024

 

In Wu Yang’s paintings, the role of mother is heavy and humorous. Mothers work hard to raise their children and selflessly help their grandchildren. Mothers are the first teachers of their children’s lives and the instinctive guardians of their children’s growth. In Wu Yang’s paintings, the mother’s fragile body is transformed into a strong rock, carrying and supporting a heavy burden – the natural maternal love is so tenacious, so selfless, and so majestic! This should be the meaning that Wu Yang narrates.

 

 

Wu Yang, Woman, 82.7 x 90.55 inches (210 x 230 CM), 2024

 

 

Wu Yang, Two-Faced Person, 74.8 x 67 inches (190 x 170 cm), 2024

 

Woman and Two-Faced Person are two large-scale fabric installation works: graceful and unrestrained, straightforward and agile, chic and charming. Wu Yang, who was trained as a dyeing and weaving fashion designer, expresses the characteristics and spirit of women in a clear and confident way with her installations: “Women are not only orchids in the valley but also can be clang roses.” “Women are not only ocean water but also can be blazing flame.” Women are a hemisphere of life potential and an indisputable half of the world.

Wu Yang uses the power of art to break through obstacles, constantly explores, ponders the world, and uses her unique style to open a window of hope, allowing us to see new time and space, and new insights, wherever we look.

 

Toni Zhang McAfee

Director, Lipont Gallery 

November 2024 in Vancouver

世道冥思 · 艺门能量 —— 吴洋【不徙】绘画与装置

 

面对画家吴洋与她卓尔不凡的艺术创作时，我想起英国作家凯瑟琳·梅斯菲尔德 (Katherine Mansfield) 的一句话：“ 一个伟大的诗人必须首先是一首伟大的诗”。的确，画家吴洋天赋异禀，她多彩的人生履历、扎实的文学素养以及坚实、丰厚的艺术潜质，成就了她今日既沉静又饱满的独特艺术风貌！欣赏吴洋的作品，无论油画、粉画、绘本、装置，我都会透过作品表象感受到某种细腻、强劲，坚韧，厚实，华美的内蕴气场与张力。

“ 徙 ”，有多重涵义。“ 不徙 ”似可解读为不趋时势，不落窠臼，“ 我思故我在 ”。这是一个关乎心理动力的问题，是艺术家吴洋提出并意欲解答的问题。

疫情以来，她经历了焦虑、思辨、探索，并从艺术耕耘中开辟出希望的天地。有时候，徙是新生的开始；有时候，徙是未知的开始。移民艺术家吴洋从北京来到温哥华，并在两地往来和创作。近年来她围绕生存、记忆、女性的社会角色、环境艺术的功用等主题创作了【尘封】装置系列，【伊卡洛斯岛】色粉系列，【履历】装置，【不徙】绘画等系列作品，挖掘和表达她对世道的冥思和对艺术的不倦实践。

吴洋的作品一直没有脱离超现实的手法和多媒介材料的运用。从早期的【石沁花】系列油画到【不徙】系列，柔软的纺织图案和坚硬的石头被结合在一起并被拟人化。石头是人类文明史上最古老的艺术媒介之一。石材坚固永恒的品性，使历史与现实的大量艺术作品以及建筑物都用石头作为载体。石化也是希腊神话里面被诅咒者的下场——失去行动力、被禁锢。几乎每幅【不徙】油画中都有一个石化的身体，如僧道一般，蜷身苦修，冥思苦想，力图成为自己命运之路的启门人。在吴洋的画笔下，它们好似仍有灵魂，并与观者交流和表达着自己的忧思。

 

吴洋 【石头是我，我是石头】布面油画, 36 x 36 英寸 (91.44 x 91.44 厘米), 2023

 

【石头是我，我是石头】“表现的是女性对自锢的无奈和挣扎”。本体对自我的禁锢一部分原因来自社会环境和家庭教育。失去一部分个性会令人沮丧。自我意识能否做到徙，或不徙？是否能做到灵魂的自由和绽放？吴洋再次用石头这一简洁而沉重的表象比喻女性的处境和心境。

石头沉重、枯燥；图案鲜艳、复杂。伴随‘石身’的，是从中探出的柔软、色泽鲜艳的，被美丽图案包裹的手臂。它们是从绝望中生出的希望。它们自我呵护，拥抱自己；又似在无奈中探求真理，顽强地、不可遏制地奋力彰显出内蕴的生命张力。手臂表面美丽的图案是女性的象征。图案是逻辑，图案是节奏，图案是柔情。图案给予观者视觉的快感与精神的愉悦。在吴洋的作品中，图案是必须。作为设计师出身的吴洋，遵循比例，计划周祥，配色高明，推陈出新，是她艺术大厦的坚实基础。她从“人本”出发，思辨人生剧本的真实性和虚拟性，赋予这些石身主人公们生命，让她们讲述生命的故事。她对岩石纹理和粗粝沙尘的描绘又甚为逼真，似乎预示着生命将最终归于尘埃。

 

吴洋 【请不要关注我】布面油画, 36 x 30 英寸 (91.44 x 76.2 厘米), 2022

 

【请不要关注我】是吴洋在2022年疫情肆虐期间创作的。对未知的焦虑蔓延在她的心中。画中的主人公貌似心力交瘁，在迁徙途中抵达一个小的生态环境，面临对过去和未来的抉择……

 

吴洋【Hello Mom 哈啰 妈妈】三联画，布面油画，31.5 x 23.6 inches (80 x 60 CM/幅) 2024

 

在吴洋的画中，母亲的角色是沉重的，也是谐谑的。母亲辛劳地哺育子女，无私地扶助儿孙，母亲是孩子人生的第一位教师，是儿女成长的本能卫士。在吴洋的画面中，母亲柔弱的身躯幻化成坚强的石块，承载、支撑着千斤重负——天赋的母爱如此坚韧，如此无私，如此伟岸！这应是画家予以宣叙的涵义。

吴洋【女人】82.7 x 90.55 英寸 (210 x 230 CM) 2024

 

吴洋【双面人】74.8 x 67 英寸 (190 x 170 CM) 2024

 

【女人】和【双面人】是两件体量较大的布艺装置作品：婀娜舒展，率真灵动，潇洒娇艳。染织与服装设计师出身的吴洋，以其装置作品鲜明、自信地表达了女性的特质与精神：女人是空谷幽兰，是铿锵玫瑰；一半是海水，一半是火焰。女性是生命潜力的半球体，是无可争辩的半壁世界。

 

吴洋用艺术的能量冲破阻滞，不断探索，思辨世道，用独特的风格开辟希望之窗，让我们目光所及皆是新的时空和思悟。

 

张玥

温哥华力邦美术馆馆长

2024年11月于温哥华