Wang Yuping, White Horse and Ukiyoe, 206x240cm, Acrylic and oil pastel on canvas, 2021

Platform China Contemporary Art Institute will hold Wang Yuping's solo exhibition “Salt-Roasted Ginkgo" (Shioyaki Ichō) on September 4, 2021. The exhibition will present more than 30 paintings by different media he has used to create in recent years, most of which are sketches of small-scale objects. They express the joy and emotion of the artist's life, and also the subtle yet delicate tones of his paintings.

Wang Yuping, Salt-Roasted Ginkgo, 42x56cm, Watercolor on paper, 2021

The exhibition name”Salt-Roasted Ginkgo" originated from one of his sketch, it is Wang Yuping's favorite Japanese snack. The name connects the theme of the exhibition as a composite imagery. The “Salt” is refers to the daily life of ordinary people; “Roasted” means warmth and conveys the temperature of his heart and painting; “Ginkgo” is an edible fruit, a metaphor for the artist’s natural and fluent skill. In sum,”Salt-Roasted Ginkgo" shows Wang Yuping’s rejection of the grand theme, and his emphasis on the emotions and meanings within everyday, ordinary objects. Looking back at his creative clues, from the intense expressive painting in early days to the recent exquisite object sketching, there is a gap in aesthetic orientation between the two. During his more than 30 years of creative career, Wang Yuping conducted various experiments of painting methods, resulting in his variation of artistic styles during different periods. For case studies, the variations provide a wealth of comparative samples. For the painter himself, object sketching is much closer to his soul.

Wang Yuping, Ashtray-2, 29.7x42cm, Acrylic on wood board, 2021

The works in the exhibition depict the touching warmth in Wang Yu Ping’s life, not only showing his daily expenses, but also revealing his interesting collection of objects. His works often have a relaxed and soft visual effect, expressing the painter's happy feelings. What is particularly remarkable is that the colors in Wang Yuping's works are bright but not frivolous, simplicity coexisting with a demonic charm, bringing a complex synesthetic experience, the visual perception seems to be able to affect the nerves of taste and touch to the audience. The colors intersect and blend into a phantom outline, glowing in a halo of memory.

Wang Yuping, My Coffee Cup, 42x29.7cm, Acrylic on wood board, 201

Wang Yuping's paintings are born inwards, reflecting the cultural landscape of the modern world in a private and personal manner. These paintings are like a layer of soft gauze, filtering the dust and grimes of profanity, and distributing diverse cultural resources at will. Bread, cigarettes, Ukiyo-e, Dian Shizhai pictorial, American table lamps, Indian tin toys, Istanbul knitted hats... Wang Yuping created the "Natural History" of modern life with an intimate and intriguing perspective, in which viewers can see the objects and travel through the heart’s desires.

About the artist

Wang Yuping, born in Beijing in 1962, graduated from oil painting department, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 1989. Currently works in the No.4 Studio of the Oil Painting Department, School of Fine Art, CAFA.

About the exhibition

Academic Adviser: Wang Min'an

Curator: Wang Jiang

Dates: 2021.09.04 - 10.16

Opening: 2021.09.04   15:00

Venue: Platform China Contemporary Art Institute 

Courtesy of the Artist and Platform China Contemporary Art Institute.