YANGYANG PAN: VISIONS OF EDEN

MJFA  proudly presents  VISIONS OF EDEN, a  fifth solo exhibition of recent works by Chinese/Canadian artist  YANGYANG PAN.  The exhibition will be on view from September 11 - October 31, 2020. 

VISIONS OF EDEN  takes a more pointed approach to the abstract landscapes that have defined Pan’s practice for the past 10 years.  In the 12 oil paintings on canvas and linen presented, Pan reveals her inner self to radiate moods, emotional states, and thoughts on painting.  Her works of intense chromatic lyricism are vibrant and visionary, informed by the artist’s deep-seated knowledge of Eastern and Western art history. 

Inspiration for this series comes from a poem by 5th Century Chinese poet Tao Yuanmin, entitled The Peach Blossom Spring, a fable about a chance discovery of an ethereal perfect world.  Improvising with a range of colors and processes, both the canvas and the artist are transformed and brought to a kind of utopian Eden as these enchanting, lush garden-scapes take shape.  Applying gestural brush strokes intuitively and instinctively, Pan seeks to reinvigorate and reimagine the genre. 

Working with no definitive plan and guided by her emotions, Pan leads with color, exploring the range of possibility offered by her paints.  Incorporating tight mark-marking with textured, sharp brushstrokes, the artist paints to the edge of the canvas utilizing a vivid color palette – from sunflower yellows to cobalt blues.  Vacillating between botanical representation and abstraction, the artist’s dense compositions and bold repetitive marks is the synthesis of an Eastern interpretation of the Canadian landscape that she lives in.

Born in 1976, Yangyang Pan studied at the Sichuan Fine Art Institute.  Graduating with honors, Pan received her Bachelor of Arts in 1998 followed by a Masters of Fine Art in 2002.  She remained as an instructor until 2006 when she relocated to Canada.  Since 2006, Pan has exhibited internationally, including Canada, USA, Italy and China.  She received the Ontario Arts Council, Visual Artists Creation Projects Grant in 2020 and was awarded the Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition assistant award both in 2010 and 2019.  Her work is widely collected in numerous private and public institutions such as Government of Ontario Art Collection, Apple (USA), Royal Elite International Academy (Canada), The Rochester Museum of Fine Art (USA), The Sichuan Fine Art Institute (China) and retail giants including Holt Renfrew (Canada), Anthropologie (USA), Amour Vert (USA), Vdara Las Vegas, and Provide Commerce (USA).