Yuan Yuan

Frequently, Yuan Yuan’s paintings depict claustrophobic, ruin-like spaces; the places are seemingly lively, but human figures are definitely absent. As soon as the ruins are abandoned, they are turned from private territories into public spaces. Yuan compares this transformation with the fate of an artwork: as soon as it is gazed upon by a spectator, the artist abandons his exclusive possession of it. The viewer gradually identifies the time and space depicted in the painting, and in the same process identifies his or her own perspective, arriving not only in a painted world, but also his or her own projection. Expressing the absence of human by depicting the traces left behind, Yuan’s painting takes exactly the excess of details as its subject, emphasizing on even the most trivial details. In a space that is ruined and fractured, time is surprisingly rendered clear and visible, amplifying vivid spiritual and emotional echoes.