Shanghai Gallery of Art is pleased to present Presenting Nature, the first solo exhibition by artist Lai Jin’na opening in Shanghai. Being more than a presentation of Lai Jin’na’s recent works which have shown some different tendencies from her previous practice, the exhibition could also be seen as a review of the three stages witnessed in the artist’s journey in the art world.

Lai Jin’na’s work investigates the spiritual essence behind the nature. From her earlier acrylic on canvas, color pencil on paper to her recent paper pricking series, the evolution of her artistic vision could be perceived: the intentional visual manipulation and cutting of the scenes and objects she observed, which were seen in her earlier practice, have gradually developed into the focus on individual objects that are more specific. As a result, the magnified individual objects are imbued with more imagination and possibilities for seeing. With the changes of the media she chooses to work with, the works she produces form an organic continuance, and the spiritual essence contained within gradually comes to the fore during this continuing process.

Lai Jin’na’s artworks in color pencils and ballpoint made their debut in a series in 2010. Contours of the objects she depicted seemed blurred beneath the intricately interlaced lines. A sense of organization was born out of the elaborate and yet delicate lines. What’s behind it was a journey she initiated to pursue simplicity from complexity, representation from abstraction, the inner world from the outer world. It also conveyed such a message: all things had to be imbued with meaning, and the delicately elaborate lines should be deemed as traces necessary to achieve this. Lai Jin’na used to lead a life highly laid-back and close to nature, which informed her perception of nature as well as the world. Being a follower of Animism, she believes in the rationality of all things that exist.

Why is There Something Rather Than Nothing, the paper pricking series she produced in 2014 carried on the realistic approach seen in her ballpoint painting. However, the shapes of flowers and leaves delineated through needle pricking and shadows caused by the overlapping of them made the objects look more flexible and light than those depicted by ballpoints. Compared with a pure graphic way of delineation, the paper pricking works represented the objects in real life in a more vivid and realistic way. Leaves and flowers delineated through needle pricking seemed to be able to breathe. The purity and lively strength were so infectious that it seemed every breath the viewers took followed the rhythm of the verve given out by these works, and every breath was a way to get rid of the stale and take in the fresh. During the process, they were also experiencing the various possibilities of all the beings in the world.

About the exhibition

Dates: Apr 24, 2015 - Jun 18, 2015

Opening: Apr 24, 2015, 18:00, Friday

Venue: Shanghai Gallery of Art

Courtesy of the artist and Shanghai Gallery of Art.