"Grand China" (2009) is a tour-de-force oil painting by famed Chinese Contemporary artist Yi Ling (China, b. 1961). This painting measures 55.25 x 79.0 inches (140 x 200 cm) as unframed and is in excellent condition.
Yi produces the artistic equivalent of automatic writing, where primitive impulses and sexuality collide then absorb and embrace popular culture and consumerism in a teeming dreamscape.. "Grand China" is a vibrant and important example of Yi's singular manner of painting amongst his peers, integrating the use of abstract symbols, words, human and animal figures, both religious and pop-culture iconography, primitive cartoon-like forms at times boldly outlined, at other times cryptic and seemingly hidden, that work together to evoke an exciting and dynamic experience for the viewer. There is a definite sense of life and movement amidst the labyrinth of kinetic lines here and an active experiment with the interconnection of images. Within the painting elements begin to emerge as separate entities and we discover shapes such as a female body, a race car, a statue of Buddha, even motivational phrases in English such as "LETS GET STARTED" that ground the work.
Yi Ling's resume is impressive, his works having been exhibited widely across China, including his native Shanghai, and internationally from Singapore to Germany, Belgium, Holland, France, and Luxembourg. The artist has shown widely throughout Europe and Asia including notable Museum shows including "Course", Gefen Contemporary Art Museum, Shengzhen, China; "Xu . Shi Part II", Belgium Embassy, Beijing, China; "Shanghai Abstract Art", Mingyuan Art Centre, Shanghai, China; "Artists Yi Ling and Lin Chunyan Exhibition", Guangdong Art Museum, Guangdong, China.; "China and France Culture Exchange", Lille, France; "The Beads and Style of Drawing", Tokyo Art Projects, Beijing, China; "Peinture Contemporaine Chinoise", l'Espace Lhomond, Paris, France; and "MONDRIAAN IN CHINA" - Touring Exhibition, Beijing International Art Garden, Shanghai Library, Guangdong Art Museum, China.
