Yi Ning Pan – Artist Biography
Yi Ning Pan is a Chinese Canadian young artist born in Qingdao, Shandong and raised in Vancouver, Canada. Recently graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, majoring in painting, sculpture, and ceramics, she furthered her artistic journey by studying Japanese painting in Japan. Her unique cultural background profoundly influences her work, bridging Eastern and Western artistic traditions.
Yi Ning’s work bonds these influences, exploring themes of identity and cultural heritage through painting, sculpture, and mixed media. Her Taihu stone series, for instance, reflects her fascination with natural forms and the balance between chaos and order. Employing Nihonga techniques and mineral pigments on washi paper, she captures the intricate textures of these eroded limestone formations, celebrated in Chinese and Japanese garden traditions.
Now based in Vancouver, she is also exploring ceramics, reimagining the Taihu stone concept in three-dimensional forms. Through her work, Yi Ning Pan invites viewers to reflect on diversity and cultural dialogue, pushing creative boundaries to celebrate both her heritage and contemporary perspectives.
潘亦宁 – 艺术家简介
潘亦宁是一位加拿大华裔青年艺术家，出生于山东青岛，在加拿大温哥华长大。她最近从芝加哥艺术学院毕业，主修绘画、雕塑和陶瓷，后来在日本学习日本绘画，进一步拓展了她的艺术之旅。她独特的文化背景深深地影响了她的作品，将东西方艺术传统融为一体。
潘亦宁的作品将这些影响结合在一起，通过绘画、雕塑和混合媒体探索身份和文化遗产的主题。例如，她的【太湖石系列】反映了她对自然形态以及混乱与秩序之间平衡的迷恋。她在和纸上运用日本画技术和矿物颜料，捕捉了这些被侵蚀的石灰岩地层的复杂纹理，这些太湖石纹理在中国和日本的园林传统中都为人熟知。
现在，她居住在温哥华，也在探索陶瓷艺术，以三维形式重新构想太湖石的概念。通过她的作品，潘亦宁邀请观众反思多样性和文化对话，突破创意界限，同时表达她的传统和当代观点。
Yi Ning Pan – Artist Statement
Art has always been an integral part of my life. From childhood, I was surrounded by the beauty of traditional Chinese art, thanks to my parents’ passion and dedication to preserving our cultural heritage. Their influence instilled in me an appreciation for the precision, symbolism, and spirituality inherent in Chinese art. However, my journey took a transformative turn when I moved to Canada at the age of 12. Immersed in a Western community, I encountered an entirely new world of artistic expression that broadened my creative horizon but also posed challenges in defining my identity.
As a Chinese Canadian, I have often struggled to fully fit into either community. My Chinese heritage is an integral part of who I am, yet my experiences growing up in the West have shaped my worldview in profound ways. This duality has at times left me feeling caught between two worlds, neither fully belonging to one nor the other. Both cultures are essential to my identity, and my artistic practice has become a way to navigate this complex interplay and explore what it means to exist between them.
While my artistic journey has helped me embrace the richness of my dual identity, it is also an ongoing process. Each piece I create brings me closer to understanding who I am, yet the question of belonging remains central to my work. Through my art, I seek to navigate this tension, celebrating the coexistence of these two cultures while addressing the challenges of reconciling them.
潘亦宁 – 艺术家陈述
艺术一直是我生活中不可或缺的一部分。从孩提时代起，我就被中国传统艺术之美所包围，这要感谢我的父母对保护文化遗产的热情和奉献。他们的影响让我对中国艺术固有的精确性、象征意义和精神性产生了欣赏。然而，当我 12 岁移居加拿大时，我的旅程发生了转变。当我沉浸在西方社区中，我遇到了一个全新的艺术表达世界，它拓宽了我的创作视野，但也对我的身份认同提出了挑战。
作为一名华裔加拿大人，我经常难以完全融入任何一个社区。我的中国血统是我不可或缺的一部分，但我在西方长大的经历深刻地塑造了我的世界观。这种二元性有时让我感到被夹在两个世界之间，既不完全属于其中一个，也不完全属于另一个。这两种文化对我的身份都至关重要，我的艺术实践已经成为一种驾驭这种复杂相互作用并探索存在于它们之间意义的方式。
虽然我的艺术之旅帮助我接受了双重身份的丰富性，但这也是一个持续的过程。我创作的每件作品都让我更进一步了解自己是谁，但归属问题仍然是我作品的核心。通过我的艺术，我试图驾驭这种局面，庆祝两种文化的共存，并应对调和它们时的挑战。
Yi Ning Pan – CV
Education
2024 BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois , USA
Group Exhibitions
2020 SAIC ArtBash, Chicago, IL, USA
2020 Reincarnation – the Second Life of Antique Japanese Kettles, Vancouver, BC
2021 Modern and Tour De Force -Traditional Eastern Craft and Design in a New Time, Vancouver, BC
2023 Spring Undergraduate Exhibition, Chicago, IL, USA
Awards
Merit Scholarship – SAIC Creative Honor Scholarship