In 2008, when Shun Art Gallery was in its infancy, we held a group exhibition at the old space in 50 Moganshan Road in Shanghai, featuring graduates of the LuXun Academy of Fine Arts, QU Yan was one of the participators.
More than a decade later, QU Yan’s solo exhibition will be held at the gallery’s current and relocated space in Fuxing Road. His works are persistent and evolving from an industrial and decadent state to a strong tension expressing the dash and transcendence of a practitioner, with the reflection and accumulation of time.
The main hue of carbon gray in his paintings remains unchanged, but one may also be pleased to find that his recent works contain some new experiments and attempts of blue and green.
Ruins
The story in your memory,
Has its own plot.
The fragments in my memory,
Disconnected, disparate.
In the rain,
The one who doesn’t need an umbrella,
Won’t be able to see your big hands,
Had mercy on me.
Once The heart has left –
It might not return.
A story of 16 years,
When it ends, maybe it could start again.
In the ruins,
Your familiar figure,
Still caring another one.
It’s okay,
The rain in the ruins.
The leaves prevent us from seeing the forest, and when we are young we tend to be too self-conscious, lacking the ease of “blanking”. Qu Yan’s images have changed from a full tension to the veiling space now. Meanwhile, through those images, the authentic history and self-portraying are presenting.
