Yangzi Xu

State Street at Dusk, Oil Painting

2019

Artist Comments
On her commute, Yangzi used to pass State St in the evening when the lights were just turning on. "This is a moment of fleeting beauty that you want to stop and appreciate," she says. "This is the magnificence that Chicago has to offer." Yangzi developed the energy of the scene, roughly painting in the speeding cars and drawing the eye back into the composition with her strongly angled perspective.

About the Artist
Artist Yangzi Xu captures a nostalgia for Chicago and its dramatic seasonal changes in her expressionist cityscapes. Having a full-time job and being a wife and mother, Yangzi makes a habit of painting everyday to keep her passion exciting and fresh. She keeps a queue of ideas and reference photos that she takes throughout the year. She looks through her references, tweaks and adds elements to them. Once inspiration strikes, Yangzi draws several sketches and begins to work with oils on canvas on multiple pieces at once - to keep each painting spontaneous and new. "I try to capture the paradox of life in the city, where one can be in a crowd and yet feel alone," Yangzi says. "My main intent is not to capture the physical reality of a scene, but to express my own moods and feelings to my audience." In her free time, Yangzi enjoys reading, with her current favorite genres being biographies and memoirs. Yangzi is an alumnus of DePaul University in Chicago.

Words that describe this painting: Chicago, urban, dusk, city, evening, downtown, street, architecture, architecture, impressionism, representational, oil painting, green

State Street at Dusk
Yangzi Xu
Oil painting on stretched canvas
Finished black edges
Ready to hang
One-of-a-kind
Signed on front
2019
20 in. h x 16 in. w x 1.5 in. d
2 lbs. 8 oz.