Soka Art is proud to showcase two of its exclusive artists—Yan Zhancheng and Yan Yineng—in a dual exhibition that will be held from December 23, 2023 to January 20, 2024. Yan Zhancheng is an expert in engaging the audience through abstract narrative styles using grayscale colors and anonymous character identities. Alternatively, Yan Yineng's canvas paintings feature his mental imagery of fascinating natural elements like volcanoes, oceans, earth, and ores. This dual exhibition will be packed with excitement as it puts nearly 20 pieces of new contemporary artworks on display.

“Painting is graphic and visual at its core. It is neither as narrative as literature nor as inspirational as philosophy. Intuitive first impressions are the most important elements—interact with artworks and communicate in the painting language.”—Yan Zhancheng

Born in Yan'An in 1984, Yan Zhancheng graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. With hometown nostalgia running in his veins, the artist incorporated nostalgic elements into all his works as if he applied a hometown filter effect. For example, hats and colorful chunky clothing are some of the common characteristics that the artist recalled from his childhood memories. Hence, he intentionally blurred out facial expressions while introducing emotions and languages into character physiques, structural lines, and body proportions. This enabled the images to interact with the audience directly. Yan Zhancheng preferred not to overwhelm the audience with overly complex information, as he believed intuitive feelings from artworks create the best interpretations. By founding his artworks on subconscious portrayals of hometown memories, passion for literature, and intuitive use of colors, the artist hopes to interact with the audience through his personal experience and art portfolio.

The tall hats worn by the characters in Two White Eyes are a recurring element in Yan Zhancheng's artworks. In his unique painting language, the artist did not reveal the characters' personalities, regional characteristics, or genders in the painting. He wanted viewers to ignore ideological symbols and focus on intuitive feelings from the artwork. Although the facial expressions hidden under the tall hats' shadows are not clearly visible in front view, the characters give the audience an inescapable stare. The artist ingeniously adjusted the hat shadow to create a side-eye look for the character on the left, making the image more compelling in general. By setting the artwork on the dominant color of unsaturated backgrounds, Yan Zhancheng added fun clothing and postures in a well-paced, rigorous composition to create the intriguing atmosphere in this painting.

Born in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province in 1977, Yan Yineng obtained a master’s degree from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2005. In early 2023, he held a solo exhibition at Soka Art Beijing and also participated in Art021 Shanghai and Beijing Contemporary, receiving positive responses and feedback from a wide range of collectors. Yan Yineng likes to embed the imagery of natural elements in his works. Through overlapping layers of paint and other blotting and shading techniques, the artist embarked on a journey to explore the essence of life from experience and memory. For the format of his paintings, the artist broke through the 2D framework barrier while upholding the respect for classical art. With an obsession for aesthetics, the artist cannot tolerate disorderly non-visuals in the image. He restored the rhythm of painting by spontaneously driving visual aesthetics and excluding light-shadow effects in order to explore the boundaries of painting. As Jacques Derrida once said, “To every individual, the world ends at a different place.” Portraying the end of his world through paintings, Yan Yineng interpreted the world and expressed himself by opening up his inner world to the external world.

Featured in this exhibition, the vibrant shade of red in 17.11-23 looks like erupting lava at a crater. The artist extended the imagery of volcanic topography through multiple layers of paint. Seeing natural elements as explicit entities, Yan Yineng expressed their unstable, uncontrollable properties through abstract painting techniques. The paints in the image broke through the frame’s original limits, demonstrating a sense of lost control within a manageable range. Under this paradox, Yan Yineng tried to demonstrate the power of control in a relatively bigger picture.