Ding Yi
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Works
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 2022-162022Acrylic and woodcuts on basswood141 3⁄4 x 189 in. (360 x 480 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 2020-82020Mixed media on basswood47 1⁄4 x 47 1⁄4 in. (120 x 120 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 2018-162018Mixed media on basswood47 1⁄4 x 47 1⁄4 in. (120 x 120 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 2016-B102016Chalk and charcoal on Japanese yuu grid paper196 7⁄8 x 466 1⁄2 in. (500 x 1185 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 2015-12015Acrylic and woodcuts on basswood189 x 94 1⁄2 in. (480 x 240 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 2011-42011Acrylic on canvas118 1⁄8 x 118 1⁄8 in. (300 x 300 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 2009-42009Acrylic on tartan55 1⁄8 x 63 in. (140 x 160 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 1997-331997Acrylic on tartan55 1⁄8 x 63 in. (140 x 160 cm)
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Ding YiAppearance of Crosses 1991-31991Acrylic on canvas
55 1⁄8 x 70 7⁄8 in. (140 x 180 cm)
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Biography
Enlightenment, for me, is about being totally submereged in what I do, in order to be able to release this spiritual power or condition that is represented in my work.
Ding Yi (b. 1962, Shanghai, China), is a leading figure in Chinese geometric abstraction who lives and works in Shanghai. Ding’s early education took place amidst China’s Cultural Revolution. His practice was developed in reaction to Socialist Realist propagandist imagery, called xuanchuanhua, which flooded the country’s visual landscape during his formative years, as well as by later studies in Chinese ink painting at Shanghai University, which he attended from 1986 to 1990.
During this period, the artist created a system for constructing nonrepresentational works using solely the motif of a rudimentary cross—depicted alternately as x and +—which he developed into an ongoing series he named “Appearance of Crosses.” To construct the work in this series, Ding first maps out underlying compositions on his wood and paper supports before building up accumulations of crosses to realize these compositions using unmixed paints taken straight from the tube. The series is dictated by a strict set of rules intended to detach the resulting paintings from representation, as well as from meaning and emotion. Instead, he describes these paintings as representations of spirit.
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Exhibitions
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Ding Yi
Lightscapes 4 May - 17 June 2021 New YorkTimothy Taylor is pleased to present Lightscapes, a solo exhibition of works by Chinese artist Ding Yi (b. 1962), presented simultaneously at Timothy Taylor’s New York gallery at 515 West 19th Street and online in the Frieze Viewing Room, coinciding with Frieze New York 2021. This is the artist’s fifth exhibition with the gallery, comprising three paintings and six drawings, created specifically for the show. The exhibition will be accompanied by an interview with Alexandra Munroe, the Senior Curator of Asian Art, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.View More -
Ding Yi
Recent Works 31 October - 9 November 2019 LondonTimothy Taylor is delighted to present an exhibition of recent works by Ding Yi at the gallery’s new London space. Join Professor Shane McCausland for a special tour of the exhibition Ding Yi Recent Works on 4th November, 6–7pm at Timothy Taylor, London. Shane McCausland is the Percival David Professor of the History of Art at SOAS, University of London. He is an historian of visual arts and material culture, with a particular focus on the painting and calligraphy produced in dynastic China. McCausland is also a curator of Chinese contemporary art, curating Ding Yi’s exhibition What’s Left to Appear at the Long Museum (West Bund) in Shanghai, 2015.View More -
Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 29 September - 28 October 2017 New YorkDing Yi has been making abstract paintings using crosses and grids since the late 1980s. The cross, whether a ‘+’ or an ‘x’ with thematic variations, is a motif that the artist has declared a formal mark without meaning, in order to emphasise his rationalist approach to painting. The late works on wood boards reflect Ding Yi’s continuing dialogue with China’s fast-paced development in the last three decades. The intensity and dynamism of the rapid urbanisation is embodied in the interlacing woodcuts and brushworks. Whether predominantly black, paired on tartan, or elaborated in intense fluorescent colours, all works bear the title Appearance of Crosses with a date.View More -
Ding Yi
19 May - 8 July 2017 LondonTimothy Taylor is honoured to announce Ding Yi’s first solo exhibition in London. Continuing his ongoing investigation, Appearance of Crosses, this show will present seven never-before seen paintings. As one of today’s preeminent Chinese contemporary artists Ding Yi’s work employs a distinctive language of mark- making to examine the function of abstract painting both as a personal form of expression and meditation, as well as a channel through which to consider the rapid socio-political developments of 20th century China.View More -
Substance
18 July - 14 August 2015 LondonContinuing its Philip Guston season, Timothy Taylor is pleased to announce the group exhibition Substance, which takes as its point of departure the “meat and potatoes” of Guston’s layered, visceral paintings – coined by Mark Leckey in his Cinema in the Round (2008) – and then goes on to explore the idea of substance in art from different points of view.View More
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Press
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Publications