YANG Jian

Through his concern for the most insignificant subjects and the pertinence of his narrative framework, not a moment goes by where Yang Jian doesn’t use his artistic creation to stir up habitual experiences and the restrictions and stipulations imposed on daily life. At face value, this kind of joking and teasing – both theatrical and humorous at the same time – is diametrically opposed to a great many previous performance methods that related explicitly to Realpolitik. Oftentimes the artist constructs grotesqueness to reach the shore opposite to that of the truth. Either that or he uses randomness and coincidence to unfurl a vigorous, technical rhetoric, whereby he uncovers a logical revolt hidden beneath everyday appearances.

At first glance, Yang Jian’s artistic practice seems oriented towards a kind of “technical” rhetoric with regards to emotions or phenomena, when in actual fact it possesses a melancholic, novel-like core, as well as a montage-like attitude that is revealed when his work deals with specific incidents. His artistic output includes video, installations and performance, among other domains.

Yang Jian (b. 1982, Fujian Province, China) received his MA from the School of Fine Arts, Xiamen University in 2007. From 2009 to 2010, Yang Jian was admitted to the international residency program at the Dutch Royal Academy of Fine Arts (RABK), in 2010 he was awarded funding by the Dutch Niemeijer Fonds Foundation; in 2015, he won the Special Jury Prize of the Third “Huayu Youth Award” at Art-Sanya, China; in 2021, he was selected for The Swiss Arts Council Artists Residency. Recent solo exhibitions include Octopus’s Garden, TRA-TRAVEL, Osaka, Japan (2024); Geyser, WHITE SPACE, Beijing, China (2023); Geyser – Yang Jian, TOKU Gallery, Nanjing, China (2023); Higher Faster Stronger – A Solo Project by Yang Jian, C5CNM, Beijing, China (2021); Yang Jian: A Big Metaphor, Microneme Space, Wuhan, China (2019); The Times Impossible to Encounter; The Gaze from a Composite Leviathan, WHITE SPACE, Beijing, China (2018); General Image, SNAP, Shanghai, China (2017); Yang Jian: Constructing Ruins, Taikang Space, Beijing, China (2017). Recent group exhibitions include Counter/Surveillance: Control, Privacy, Agency, The Wende Museum, Culver City, USA (2024); Durian-Durian: Southeast Asian Studies as a Methodology, Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou, China (2023); Double Reality, Emerging Curators Project 2022, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China (2022); BOOMERANG–OCAT Biennale 2021, OCAT Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China (2021); Elise Gagnebin-de Bons & David Hominal & Yang Jian, CIRCUIT, Lausanne, Switzerland (2021); Noire Lumière, HOW Art Museum (Shanghai), Shanghai, China (2020); A Composite Leviathan, Bridge Project, Los Angeles, US (2020), Luhring Augustine Bushwick, New York, USA (2019); Sunset on a Dead End: The Notorious and Their Inexplicable Modes of Existence, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China (2019); Three Rooms: Edge of Now, Gallery Damdam, Berlin, Germany (2019-2020), Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM), Karlsruhe, Germany (2019), Chronus Art Center (CAC), Shanghai, China (2018-2019), Nam June Paik Art Center, Seoul, South Korea (2018); 8102: On Reality, OCAT Shanghai, Shanghai, China (2018); The 6th Guangzhou Triennial 2018-As We May Think: Feed Forward, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China (2018); Turning Point: Contemporary Art in China Since 2000, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China (2016). Yang Jian currently lives and works in Nanjing, China.

SELECTED WORKS

YANG Jian

Generating System
2023
steel tube, tube connectors, acrylic disc, lead board, ceramic vase, medical latex tube, peristaltic pump, soap, artificial saliva
overall dimensions variable

YANG Jian

170160
2021
acrylic on canvas, fire hose
170×160 cm

YANG Jian

Dragonfly
2012-2022
acrylic, transparent resin, silica gel, dragonfly wing on paper
38×26.2 cm
wood board, iron ball
overall dimension 75×69×15 cm

YANG Jian

200134
2022
acrylic on canvas, fire hose
200×134 cm

YANG Jian

Tower
2022
wood, iron ball, aluminum parts
53×90×7.5 cm

YANG Jian

Dog. Dustbin. Stone. Insect
2012-2022
acrylic, transparent, resin, insect, stone on plastic sheet
40×29 cm
iron sheet, slide rail, magnet
overall dimension 50×62×4 cm

YANG Jian

New Celestial Body
2012-2022
acrylic, transparent resin, gilding fabric on plastic sheet
34×30.5 cm

YANG Jian

Hand. Hamster
2022
acrylic, transparent resin on ceramic tile
30×30 cm
acrylic and pencil on paper
32×23 cm
iron sheet, wood, magnet
overall dimension 46×59×6 cm

YANG Jian

Alienated Facial Features on an Infinitely Swollen Face
2021
acrylic on canvas
57.5×55 cm

YANG Jian

Neutron Stardust
2022
acrylic on canvas, fire hose
88×111 cm

YANG Jian

88111
2022
acrylic on canvas, fire hose
88×111 cm

YANG Jian

A Black Cube by Malevich and a Quasistationary Distribution Figure from the Essay Social Consensus Through the Influence of Committed Minorities by Xie Jierui; A Dunning–Kruger Effect Patient; The Yangtze River; An Incredible High/Low Rate of Return; Mountain
2018
mixed media on canvas, acrylic, leading panel; mixed media on canvas; mixed media on canvas; mixed media on canvas
54×50 cm, 50×50 cm; 54×50 cm; 55×99 cm; 54×50 cm; 54×50 cm

YANG Jian

A Composite Leviathan
2018
lead board, rebar, iron wire, cement, polyurethane foam
150(Ø)×350(h) cm

YANG Jian

Supermatism & Survival Blanket
2018
iron tube, reflective survival blanket
dimensions variable

YANG Jian

Trimming Time
2018
single channel HD Video (color, stereo sound)
2’11”

YANG Jian

Tumbleweed
2018
monitor, iron ball, surveillance camera, electric telescoping pole
Ø90 cm

YANG Jian

Internet of Things
2018
napa cabbage, wifi antenna
dimensions variable

YANG Jian

SDSS
2016
aluminum, sdss optical fiber inserting plate for spectrum telescope, led light
sculpture: 80×80×140cm, overall dimensions variable

YANG Jian

The Forest of Sensors
2016
interactive installation
dimension variable

YANG Jian

Crater
2016
lead sheath
187×92×13cm

YANG Jian

Segmentation of Human in Aerial View
2016
lead sheath, copper, cotton thread, iron board, wood board, wheel
dimensions variable

YANG Jian

Narcissus
2015-2016
kinetic installation
camera, motor, metal, governor, wire
87×87×195(h) cm

YANG Jian

Thank You, Have a Nice Day！1
2015
camera, plastic bag
dimensions variable

YANG Jian

Thank You, Have a Nice Day！2
2015
camera, egg, steel bar, stone
dimensions variable

YANG Jian

A Meng
2015
plants, audio chip
dimensions variable

YANG Jian

Plant Some Weeds
2014
two-channel video (color, sound)
4’06”

YANG Jian

Are We More Stupid Than Before
2013
television, acrylic
31×31×27 cm

YANG Jian

Wi-Fi – RWeMoStupidThanB4?
2013
installation (router, electric wire)
dimensions variable
Venue: Yangtze River Forum in Wuhan

YANG Jian

Forbidden Incense. Disturbing the Peace
2007-2013
book, carbon powder, combustion improver, thread
dimension variable

YANG Jian

A Not Fully Grown Walnut Tree Bent by Its Fruits
2012
installation (walnut tree, flowerpot, wire rope, pulley, walnut)
dimensions variable
Venue: Iran

YANG Jian

Untitled
2012
pulley, cable, fruit basket, fruit

YANG Jian

Untitled
2011
tripod, Mp4 player, vibrator
167×55cm

YANG Jian

The Shape of a Soul
2008-2010
glass, single channel video (color, sounds)
15×60×15 cm，6′ 55″

YANG Jian

Want to Leave
2010
LED light, chair
80×25×106 cm

YANG Jian

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
2010
book, motor, chip, remote-control, wood, stool, inflatable pool, iron pipe
19×29×11cm

YANG Jian

Countdown Timer of My Life
2007-2010
led chip, transparent resin, soil, ruderal, acrylic
11×5×12 cm

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