Chen Yu
White Light
2019

About the Item

Chen Yu’s art started with lacquer painting. On this foundation, her materials experiments and conceptual extensions have developed in two directions; she is serious and measured, and her body of work is immensely accomplished. Looking at the field of lacquer in China today, Chen Yu’s experiments are more valuable than works by those big names that are flashy yet meaningless. Her experiments with materials focused on how little fluidity lacquer has. Through long-term experimentation, she has changed its existing physical and chemical properties and realized the fluidity and transparency of lacquer in her work, thereby developing visual effects and technological methods that could only be manifested in this material, instead of imitating the techniques and effects of other materials or painting types. Experiments with technique and painting style on the foundation of the exclusive properties of the medium are valuable. Second, she used the cultural and social properties of lacquer, linking them to her identity as a woman. She conceptually links natural lacquer’s plant growth cycle and living symbolism with a woman’s social identity and physiological attributes. Built on the natural properties of the materials, her further conceptual experiments with cultural and social extensions also have a unique value. Lacquer is like ink; it has been artificially added to conceptions of too many cultures, regions, and even ethnicities. As a result, lacquer and ink are part of the same trade, and the disputes between the two have since outshone the exploration of truly valuable issues. The world of lacquer can be largely divided by material into natural and chemical lacquers. The former is particular about the purity of materials, which results in stubborn adherence to old technical and cultural value judgments. The latter lightly abandons the cultural properties of the material and makes lacquer equivalent to ordinary painting or sculpting materials; thus, it becomes crafty or decorative and loses its independence as an artistic medium.

Creator:

Chen Yu (1965)

Creation Year:

2019

Dimensions:

Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)

Medium:

Canvas,Lacquer,Mixed Media

Movement & Style:

Abstract

Period:

2010-