World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 483 - Yao Dawu
yao dawu – 1
World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 483 – Yao Dawu
Recently I visited the exhibition ‘98 Contemporary Masterpieces from the Chinese National Academy of Painting’ at Pulchri Studio in The Hague. 68 artists from the renowned Chinese National Academy of Painting participated, including Yao Dawu.
yao dawu – 2
He makes very interesting work: ink drawings that are filled in with paint. You can see that he knows the classical Chinese style well, but he gives it his own new interpretation that comes across as fresh.
yao dawu – 3-
Pelicans and storks
We see a lot of nature, many birds including many pelicans, storks and ducks, all elegantly depicted. We see the landscape, trees, reeds, flowers, sometimes a vast empty plain with a mountain range at the end. He has traveled in China and outside China, including in Afghanistan, and made a report of it in drawings and paintings, sometimes in collage style. In Afghanistan he followed the trail of the master Xuanzang.
We see buffalos, Buddha statues, the cave in Afghanistan where the statues stood and Indian elephants in the style of the Mughal paintings.
yao dawu – 4
Surprising scenes
There are also surprising scenes, such as a collage work in which two pelicans with large beaks sit on a mountain thinking about the world, combined with a boat with gnomes with red pointed hats in it that takes a flight to the skies hanging on a black balloon. A banana stuck with a transparent bandage on the left and a green apple on the right.
yao dawu – 5
Yao Dawu (61) was happy to provide some explanation. Yao Dawu: “My paintings are specific expressions of individual perceptions, where elements from different times and spaces are juxtaposed. Improvised collages and spontaneous painting are expressed textually and intuitively combined, from which one can experience an aesthetic sense filled with spirituality.”
yao dawu – 6
Yao Dawu found his style at 43
He began learning to paint at the age of 17, starting like everyone else by copying and learning, he says. “At 24, I held my first exhibition in Beijing, where I realized my works lacked a personal style, prompting me to seek my own artistic path. In 2006, at the age of 43, I finally found myself in my paintings. It was also the year I won two gold medals and one bronze at very significant national exhibitions, leading to my transfer to the Beijing Painting Academy. In 2016, I was transferred to the China National Academy of Painting, marking the true start of my journey in artistic creation.”
yao dawu – 7
What’s the core theme of his work?
“The core expression of my work revolves around the interrelationship between reality, life, and living space. This theme has been a long-term concern of mine. Relying on individual fantasies, the images depict life equality and shared living space, where all forms of life possess anthropomorphized emotions and these issues become a reality within the images.”
yao dawu – 8
Why is this theme so important to him?
“An artistic work must sincerely express the inner world. For me, this topic is both a historical image of individual life and a manifestation and explanation of discovering inner psychological tracks, possibly even carrying some genetic memory induction. In the era of science and technology, artistic language offers us new forms of reflection. Facing the existential dilemmas and survival challenges brought by technological advancements, through text form and methods that transcend reality, various symbols imbued with spatial and temporal significance mark the imaginative fantasy space, providing the reader / viewer with a joyful experience of immersion and participation in the images.”
yao dawu – 9
What is the most critical task in your creative work?
“For me, the most critical task in creative work is to coordinate the imagery so that unrelated elements and memories from different times generate interrelated story characteristics.”
yao dawu – 10
What is his philosophy?
Yao Dawu: “From a philosophical perspective, the role of art lies in continually expanding the boundaries of aesthetics and cognition while reconstructing new topical issues of the era. My creations attempt to blend the external world with inner experiences, emphasizing visibility and readability in the images. I construct a surreal world that transcends time and space, using the mask-like image of a “stork” as a symbol to gaze back at the world. In my eyes, painting has become more than just painting; it is filled with reflections on the topic of life equality.”
Images
1)Confused Time – Traces 200cm-200cm paper water-soluble paint, 2024, 2) Metaverse in Virtuality, 110cm x 110cm, Paper, Water-Soluble Paint, 2024, 3) Time, 300cm x 248cm, paper, water-soluble pigment, 2023, 4) ‘Mirror Image’, 200cm x 200cm, paper, water-soluble pigment, 2019, 5) 8.4.2024. Journal, 110cm x 255cm, paper,water-soluble paint, 2024, 6) Digital Twin, 110cm x 110cm, Paper, Water-soluble Pigments, 2024, 7) Future, 200cm x 200cm, paper, water-soluble pigments, 2024, 8) Maurizio Cattelan’s Banana, 110cmx110cm ,Paper, Water-soluble Paint, 2024, 9) My AI Era,110cm x 110cm, paper, water-soluble pigments, 2024, 10) Portrai of Yao Dawu
http://www.cnap.org.cn/English/
https://www.pulchri.nl/nl/tentoonstellingen/traditie-en-innovatie-98-hedendaagse-meesterwerken-uit-china/
https://inzaken.eu/2024/07/24/yao-dawu-i-construct-a-surreal-world-that-transcends-time-and-space/
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions expressed within this guest article are those of the author Walter van Teeffelen alone and do not represent those of the Marbella Marbella website. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to Walter van Teeffelen and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with the author.
