Dreamland 梦之秘境

July 12 – August 4, 2019 Hermès Maison, Shanghai, China Foreword By Cao Dan, Curator “The eye of the painter is a false mirror: it modifies what it captures by reconstructing the appearing features of the mystical world.” Belgian philosopher Marcel Paquetonce spoke in these terms of Surrealist painter René Magritte. The latter knew well how …

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Heaven and Earth

Jan/7 – Feb/8 Robert Langen Art Gallery, Wildfrid Laurier University Waterloo, ON Exhibition Statement My art practice focuses on intricate sculptural installations that explore the intersection of cultural and natural worlds. Classical Chinese mythology, folklore and symbolism act as the catalyst for my re-examination and reinterpretation of these century old references. By integrating Eastern and …

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In Suspended Silence 悬于寂静

In Suspended Silence By Rick Leong “… I am suspended between what I used to be and what I am becoming.” As a child growing up in China, Xiaojing Yan was immersed in the folktales, myths and legends of Daoist immortals and fantastical realms. She did what most children would do in imagining herself among …

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Between Water and Mountains 山水之间

Between Water and Mountains 2017/12 – 2018/1 Zhangjiagang Museum, Zhangjiagang, China Selected texts: Renowned artists from China and Canada showcased a series of modern artistic works at Zhangjiagang Museum for the second Idiorrhythmic Chinese & Canadian Artists Exchange Project which opened on Dec 8. Canadian artists used media such as fabricated and cast stainless steel …

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Auspicious Omens 祥瑞

Auspicious Omens – Xiaojing Yan solo exhibition -by Curator Xiaodong Fu How can one address indigenous traditions when globalization, modernism and progressivism constitute the only the dominant and legitimate ideologies? And how to reinterpret myth in a scientific context? How to rebuild our enchanted relationship with nature? “Auspicious Omens” the solo exhibition of Xiaojing Yan …

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Cloudscape at ROM

Cloudscape Medium: paper and natural reed, Dimension: dimensions variable Exhibition date: March 1, 2018 – November 30, 2019 Herman Hezog Levy Gallery Royal Ontario Museum Toronto, Canada Cloudscape is an elaborate installation work of constructed reed and paper forms that float and soar through space. The dramatic formation refers to traditional Chinese landscape painting where …

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Out from among the tranquil woods 谧林有灵

Out from among the tranquil woods September 23, 2017 – January 7, 2018 Markham-based Xiaojing Yan journeyed far into the realms of meaning and imagination to bring Out from among the tranquil woods into the visible world. Along the way, Yan collected objects of wonder and beauty – lingzhi mushrooms, star anise, freshwater pearls and …

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A Grasp of Shadows

A Grasp of Shadows Here at the intersection of Richmond Street and Spadina Avenue, taking in the art of Xiaojing Yan, one might naturally consider the proximity, only a few blocks away, to the heart of Toronto’s old Chinatown. Or sense the cultural strands extending from lately established, populous, prospering Chinese suburbs, such as in …

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New Growth

Xiaojing Yan’s migration from China to North America has informed her work and her own identity. Her outlook about freedom and individuality has evolved from the Cultural Revolution to socialism to a more open market in China to her new identity within North America’s democratic system. Using the traditional Chinese materials and techniques of lantern making …

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Innocence & Experience

Innocence & Experience By Stanzie Tooth Xiaojing Yan’s work hangs in an intermediary space between innocence and experience. While her work of the past eight years has dealt with her placement, or displacement, between an Eastern and Western existence, her latest exhibition is born from a greater point of impasse. Acting from the perspective of …

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Hybrid Vigour

Between Water and Stone Xiaojing Yan is a contemporary Chinese-Canadian visual artist whose practice utilizes techniques and forms from tradional Chinese culture but processes all the art she creates through a decidedly contemporary set of filters. The layering of traditional ideas and techniques with contemporary approaches infuse the works in Hybrid Vigour with a delicious …

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