XIAOJING YAN
A Grasp of Shadows
MARCH 2- MARCH 24, 2012
OPENING RECEPTION: March 2, 6-9pm
Reviewed by R. M. Vaughan in The Globe and Mail
Featured on CBC Radio's Metro Morning
Xiaojing Yan interviewed by Artsync (starts at 5:56 mins)
Listed as 'must-see' in NOW Magazine
The Red Head Gallery presents A Grasp of Shadows by Xiaojing Yan. With two new installation works, Yan reflects on her fundamental formation in classical Chinese art after experiencing a radical re-formation of cultural identity in the West. Yan reinterprets two enduring Chinese ink-painting motifs - lotus and mountains - using unconventional, humble, momentary materials: reed, rice paper, Chinese star anise—and shadows. Her installations capture the frozen subtlety of ink-and-wash, combine tradition and innovation, fuse expressions of East and West, and inspire an odd, simultaneously palpable and fugitive sense.
“Light plays over and travels through Yan’s beautiful works, casting shadow patterns
delicate as gossamer, ephemeral as bubbles, occasioning delight.”
- Arlene Laskey, Brantford Expositor
Xiaojing Yan is a Chinese-Canadian installation artist based in Markham, ON. She received an MFA in Sculpture from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a BFA in Decorative Art from the Nanjing Arts Institute. Yan has exhibited in galleries and museums in China, Canada and United States. Recent solo shows include New Growth, Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford (2011), Bridge, Artspace, Peterborough (2011), Shells, Cocoons and Clouds, IndexG, Toronto (2010), and Floating, Phoenix Art Gallery, Nanjing (2009). Yan has received numerous grants, including a Travel Grant from College Art Association, Emerging Artist Grant from the Ontario Arts Council, Project Grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts and Emerging Artist Grant from Toronto Arts Council.
