'Rivers and Boat' and 'Little Red Riding Hood' meet on an 'Island'

"Island," the solo exhibition of artist Wang Yi is currently on at Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum and will run through February 18.

The exhibition features Wang's recent oil on linen, encaustic on wood panel, water-color sketches and manuscripts.

The show focuses on two series of artists' works, "Rivers and Boats" and "Little Red Riding Hood." Among them, "The River and the Boat" is inspired by the novel "The Third Bank of the River" by Brazilian writer João Guimarães Rosa.

It also includes his "Party" series that was specially created by the artist for this exhibition. The series consists of 10 small-scale encaustic on wood panels. The works are exquisite, reflecting Wang's ability to master different painting materials with diversified creative ideas.

Born in 1984 in Shanghai, Wang is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts of Shanghai University. He then obtained his M.F.A. in Painting at the New York Academy of Art. In 2018, the artist won the 5th John Moores Painting Competition (China). The winning piece is also on display at the exhibition.

In the center of the painting is a human figure on a rock in a river. The figure is wearing black tights with a mask. He is alert but unmoving, his rising posture frozen. There is a lion lying down, back toward the viewers, but also relaxed and unmoving.

"We are presented with the instant in which two entirely separate worlds – the human and the animal – momentarily become aware of each other. There is a sense of wonder in the painting. The wonder arrives with the moment of recognition when two worlds – animal and human – that have nothing to do with each other connect and become part of the same 'picture'. This is also an analogy for the distance between the viewer and the painting and the wonder when the two connect," said Lewis Biggs, the academic support of the exhibition.

According to Wang, he also wanted to fuse something different into the familiar story of "Little Red Riding Hood."

"The ending of the wolf is cruel, and this is the standoff between the wolf and the little girl," Wang said.

If you go

Date: Through February 18, 10am-6pm (closed on Mondays, close from January 28 to 31)

Address: 6/F, 27 Zhongshan Rd E1

Admission: Free