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Folkert de Jong, Double Happiness, 2008, Styrofoam, pigmented polyurethane foam, pearls, 79-1/2 X 41 X 59". |
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James Cohan Gallery James Cohan Gallery has invited Dutch sculptor Folkert de Jong to create an exhibition for its new Shanghai location, which opened July 10, 2008. Folkert de Jong is best known for his theatrical, narrative-based installations. His life-sized sculptures presented in tableau-like arrangements, take on the themes of war, greed and power. These provocative sculptures are surprising for their unorthodox choice of materials — sculpted out of industrial Styrofoam and Polyurethane insulation foams. De Jong's figures embody a grotesque horror and macabre humor that is reminiscent of the work of the 20th century European artists Georges Grosz and James Ensor. This new body of work entitled •Thousand Years Business as Usual• consists of three new sculptural tableaux. The conceptual underpinnings of the exhibition relate to Darwin's theory of "survival of the fittest." De Jong's work applies Darwin's evolutionary theory beyond the natural world and into an exploration of the competition between global entities. Using this scientific theory and his startling imagery, Folkert de Jong attempts to illuminate the notion that the delicate balance of power between nations can evolve into a pattern similar to that of the natural environment. In Thousand Years Business as Usual, Folkert de Jong examines the many paradoxes inherent in what humans attempt to control and what is ultimately not in their power to control. These concepts provide fertile territory for De Jong's singular brand of expression. The main sculptural installation •Early Years• consists of seven anthropomorphized monkeys in a circle frozen in the midst of a joyful dance based upon the Matisse painting •The Dance• (c. 1901.) For the artist, the circular formation of the group represents the ever-repeating cycle of life and the gradual mutation that takes place along life's continuum as described by Darwin. By referencing the Matisse painting, De Jong uses one of the most well-known images in the history of Modern Art to represent the concept of progress, which can be understood as both the progress of the species from ape to man and the progress fueled by man's innovation in the modern age. The artist's use of the monkey as main character acknowledges both its symbolism — in the Chinese Zodiac the monkey is the most versatile and creative of astrological creatures — as well as its important role in evolutionary theory. •Business as Usual — The Tower• presents three monkeys, one on top of the other miming the cautionary saying, "See no evil, hear no evil, say no evil." De Jong's depiction of the oil barrel as a base for the trio references the complex role that oil plays in the global economy and its influence in world hegemony. The insulation foam that De Jong employs as his medium, itself a petroleum product, highlights further issues relating to the lasting negative impact that non-biodegradable products have on the environment. Sifting through the many layers in this complex body of work, the viewer may be inclined to wonder … Is this De Jong's way of suggesting that the "fittest" in the new geopolitical terrain will be the ones who are the most innovative and creative? As he questions "business as usual," is De Jong offering that the artists of the world will be the ones to lead us to a new way? Folkert de Jong, born in 1972, lives and works in Amsterdam. De Jong studied at the Academy for Visual Arts and the Rijksacademy for Visual Arts, both in Amsterdam, and was awarded the Prix de Rome for Sculpture in 2003. Among other European venues, he has had solo exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Winterthur (Winterthur, Switzerland), the Chisenhale Gallery (London, England) and mounted a major sculptural installation, •Gott Mit Uns (God With Us)•, at the Lever House in New York City. De Jong participated in the 2007 Athens Biennial, and recently had two exhibitions in the New York City region at the James Cohan Gallery and at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art. Upcoming, De Jong's work will be presented at the Saatchi Gallery (London, England) in a new exhibition entitled Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture in spring 2009. This exhibition has been realized by the financial support of the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam and the Consulate General of the Netherlands in China. |
Folkert de Jong, Family Secret, 2007.
Folkert de Jong, Les Saltimbanques, 2007.
Folkert de Jong, Seht der Mensch, The Shooting Lesson, 2007.
Folkert de Jong, The Dance, 2008.
Folkert de Jong, The Practice, Take Six, 2008. |
Folkert de Jong, Business As Usual "The Tower", 2008, Styrofoam, pigmented polyurethane foam, 118-1/8 X 39-3/8 X 39-3/8". |
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Chen Yifei, Looking at History From My Space, 1979, Oil on canvas, 185 x 353 cm, Collection of Lawrence Wu, New York. |
Shanghai Art Museum Chen Yifei went to America in 1980, leaving behind the security of his position as head of the Oil Painting Department at the Shanghai Painting Academy. By the 1990s, his paintings were auctioned at Christie's in Hong Kong for record prices and he gained the status of an artist-entrepreneur. The most fascinating part of his career has been his attempt to combine elements from his native country with the Western traditions of both realism and impressionism. Chen Yifei was trained in the Western techniques of classical realism, which were introduced in China at the turn of the century. Ironically, because of China's isolation from the West under the Communist regime, Chinese art was not exposed to the blatant modernism in the West and kept the tradition of realism alive. China cultivated young, gifted artists in the same way it cultivated athletes, and Chen Yifei was provided with the best conditions to develop his talent. He rose to stardom in the Chinese art world at the age of twenty with his painting "Begin the Avant Garde". In the next ten years, he established himself on a national level with his epic historical works, such as The Seizing of the Presidential Palace. Since realism was the only school of art officially sanctioned in China, his success over all his competitors was even more dramatic. By the late 1970s, after the death of Mao Tse-Tung and the remission of the Cultural Revolution, Chen Yifei began to break away from the uncritical glorification of historical events. His painting Looking at History from My Space, painted in 1979, depicts the specific events of the 1910s and 1920s in China, but portrays the artist's attempt to separate himself from the torrent of events, to introspect about where he stands. In 1980, at the age of 34, Chen Yifei relinquished his position and came to New York City, where the school of realism was practically ignored. Chen Yifei had the ability and self-confidence to defy the odds. He painted elegant American and Chinese musicians as well as the lush countryside scenery of the Yangtse river. In 1983, his first one-man exhibition, at New York's Hammer Galleries, created a sensation. His success sent a clear message to the New York art arena: classical realism is back! |
Chen Yifei, Warm spring in the jade pavilion, Oil on canvas, 169.5 x 242.5 cm.
Chen Yifei, The Siezing of the Presidential Palace.
Chen Yifei, Poppy, 1991. |
However, Chen did not come to New York in order to take on the art establishment. He needed the freedom to develop his personal creative aspirations unhindered. He says of his first encounter with New York's art world: "Once I had gained confidence to walk past uniformed commissioners at the doors of galleries, I was elated by the freedom to look at art." There is a visible transformation from his "official" historical work in China to his personal choice of themes and styles in America. In the former, the human figures are interchangeable and there is no personal attachment to them. In the latter, each individual is unique and the painting radiates a release of emotions. Chen Yifei's work does not fit easily into a "Chinese" or "Western" mold. Perhaps his art can be described as "multi-cultural" — not in the current sense of locking up a person in whatever ethnic group he was born into, but in the sense of combining the best of several cultures. Thus in 1987 Chen Yifei was inspired by the major exhibition "American Paradise — The World of the Hudson River School" at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, made a tour of the river valley area and painted a series of landscapes there. On the other hand, he has a strong sentimental connection to the natural scenery of his country, as well as to the city of Shanghai, where he grew up. He paints realistic portraits and impressionistic scenery. His portraits include Western musicians playing modern instruments, Chinese musicians playing traditional instruments such as the pipa, minstrels in medieval garb, Tibetan villagers, and ballet dancers. His landscapes extend from Venice to the canals of his native Zhejiang Province. One example of how Chen Yifei combines Chinese and Western elements is found in is his painting Poppy. The title is that of an evening song by the Tang Dynasty poet Bo Zhuyi, which expresses the emotions of a young woman sadly pondering the uncertainty of the future. The figure of the woman, however, has the stable structure of an ancient Greek sculpture. Another example is Soirée, which depicts Chinese musicians in traditional garb but conveys a Western "carpe diem" atmosphere. Whatever the theme and the style, the common aesthetic link behind all of Chen Yifei's work is a commitment to beauty. In the words of Lawrence Wu, Chen's paintings are "exquisite yet dignified, elegant and refined yet have heroic bearing". — Michelle Fram-Cohen |
Chen Yifei, Eulogy of theYellow River, 1972. |
