2022.8.13 – 10.23

TAG Museum, Qingdao

Curator：Zhang Zikang

Mr. Ding Yi is the pioneer of Chinese abstract painting and one of the most important artists in the field of Chinese abstract art. The symbol of the “appearance of crosses” that he has continued for more than 30 years in his creations have become an important spiritual totem of Chinese contemporary art and has opened up a new perspective of presenting the openness and confidence of Chinese contemporary art on a broad international stage.

In this exhibition, Mr. Ding Yi continued his previous “observational” creations, while based on the in-depth understanding of the space volume and exhibition halls combinations of TAG Art Museum, it breaks the standard uses of space, explores and challenges the adaptability of the complex exhibition halls with different forms in presenting case-based exhibitions. An ingenious balanced tentacle was found between Mr. Ding Yi’s art works and the contemporary architecture design by architect Jean Nouvel, which inspired the infinite inclusiveness and explicit expressiveness of the art museum not only as a “vessel for art” but also demonstrated the "+" and "×" of abstract art and contemporary architecture.

Mr. Ding Yi also draws on the temperament and ambience of the location in his latest works at the same time, incorporating natural elements such as light, ocean, the starry sky, and many more around the museum into the dimensional reference of his artistic creations. The inventive combination of the flexible scale of space, the open-window design with a view in each step, and the coastal urban landscape brings a distinct locality to the works which interconnects with the environment in and out of the exhibition hall, establishing a site-based sensibility between the viewers and the works.

Meng Xianwei

Founder of TAG Art Museum

The first research-based case study exhibition at TAG Art Museum presents the art of Ding Yi. Undoubtedly, Mr. Ding Yi is a representative artist who cannot be ignored in the Chinese contemporary art world. Ding Yi's unique artistic style was formed during the growth of Ding Yi as an artist and the evolution of Mr. Ding Yi's works, which has established his international reputation since the 1990s.

Ding Yi's art has different stages in the vertical linear clues, but also incorporates various media and spiritual layers in a horizontal cross-field and cross-cultural background. The purification of Ding Yi's artistic language and the complication of his own artistic system are two constantly developing trends. It is precisely in this way that Ding Yi has become an artist that we cannot avoid when discussing the Chinese art world today. This is also the value and significance of Ding Yi as a case study. Our study of Ding Yi is also an opportunity to look back at the magnificent course of Chinese contemporary art since Reform and Opening Up. “How Ding Yi Became Ding Yi” is the history of an artist’s growth and also the history of social development behind it, which will also provide references for future artists.

Zhang Zikang

Director of CAFA Art Museum

Heavenly Oceanly

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