202001#10, 12x12" (30x30cm), Xuan paper and ink, 2020

202001#11, 12x12" (30x30cm), Xuan paper and ink, 2020

202001#12, 12x12" (30x30cm), Xuan paper and ink, 2020

In the early spring of 2020, I experienced transient tranquility before the arrival of the pandemic threat in New York. During that period, I drew more than 30 small paintings like a diary. I lost that feeling after I rushed back to Beijing. In addition to fighting the pandemic and saving lives, the world has also undergone political, economic, social and natural crises. On-site exhibitions have been changed to online ones which can be viewed on the screen of mobile phones. Obviously a video might be more suitable for exhibiting than paintings, thus I started to experiment with video. Among the  boundless territory of uncertainty, all I can hold is a small boat of art, I save myself with her and I use it to convey love, sincerity, freedom and peace. 

Phecda III-WHY?

2020

Xuan paper, Iron net, Wooden clip

271.6 x 220.4 x 122 inch

Courtesy of Ichihara Lakeside Museum

Gasp, 3'04'' 2020

Rest , 59'' 2020

Photo by Wei Jia

Lin Yan (b. 1961, Beijing) graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1984, and pursued her studies further at L’école Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris. Ten months later, she attended the graduate school of Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania in US. In 1993, Lin Yan moved to New York with her husband and son. Based in Brooklyn, Lin Yan has been working in an unconventional manner with Chinese traditional handmade Xuan paper in her contemporary paintings, installations and video work. Her work has been included in multiple exhibitions worldwide. The most recent exhibitions are “Lin Yan: Original Point” at the Helwaser Gallery, NYC (Nov. 2019) . “Lin Yan” at Leo gallery’s online viewing rooms in Art Basel Hong Kong 2020 (March 2020), “Clouds Gathering and Unfolding—An Exhibition of Modern Chinese Art on Paper” at Ichihara Lakeside Museum in Japan (April 2020). Lin Yan went to Beijing to visit her family in mid March during the pandemic and is still there.

Image, Video and Text Courtesy of the Artist.

Edited by Sue and Emily/CAFA ART INFO