New works from Yang Yong Liang (China) and Kim Bo Min (Korea)
11 December 2011–18 February 2012
JanKossen Contemporary
Wildensteinerstr. 10
4052 Basel, Switzerland
For more information and press enquiries: info [at] jankossen.com
JanKossen Contemporary begins the 2012 gallery calendar with an exhibition showing new works by the artists Yang Yong Liang (*1980 in Chongqing, China) and Kim Bo Min (*1980 in Gumi, Korea).
Both have been trained using traditional techniques typical of their country; however use a different media and artistic practices that are both contrasting and complementary.
The photographic works by Yang Yong Liang takes a new direction with classical Chinese art, where his unique blend of ancient Chinese landscapes with signs of the contemporary has become a signature of his art. Yang’s works revisits calligraphy and traditional ink painting, using modern digital photography and computer technology; his images marrying both ancient China and the China of the future.
His new body of works entitled “The Peach Colony” is inspired by the ancient legend of Wuling the fisherman, who discovers a valley inhabited by people who had escaped Tsin Shihe Huang’s tyranny. Yang’s photographic technique incorporates a multitude of small photographs showing skyscrapers, factories and bridges; elements that do not belong in the Chinese mythical landscape. Yang transports the viewer into a fascinating dream world.
The romantic and nostalgic yet realistic works of the Korean artist Kim BoMin, also combines contemporary cityscapes with ancient landscapes that can no longer be seen in reality. In her landscapes she injects elements of today’s busy city life; expressways, skyscrapers and bridges. Using a bird’s-eye view of larger landscapes, her paintings offer evidence of what life is like in the contemporary world and present us with symbols of artificial contemporary society.
The artificial contemporary landscapes in Kim’s pictures are formed with straight, sharp outlines that give a mechanical impression. These outlines are constructed with black tapes attached to the linen support. By way of contrast, the organic images—traditional mountain and river landscapes or plant life—are painted delicately in ink and coloured with mineral pigments. These paintings show a kind of paradise—”…a landscape that is forever out of reach”.
About JanKossen Contemporary
JanKossen Contemporary Art Gallery is a Swiss-association based in Basel. The gallery’s mission is to foster international cultural-exchange, by organising new curatorial projects promoting artists primarily from outside Europe. These include the Greater Middle East, Pakistan; South and Central Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
With an emphasis on discovering and cultivating new talent, the gallery presents imaginative thematic exhibitions and tightly focused solo exhibitions, where the aim is to increase the appreciation of non-European art, among an audience of both seasoned as well as new generation collectors.
For an update of the shows in 2012, please visit www.jankossen.com.
