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Artist depicts her undersea visions
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ARTIST Yu Lanying, 70, is drawn to the undersea world, and despite her age she keeps diving into the marine world and into her art dreams as well.
The exhibition “Journey to the Deep and the Within” is on display at the China Maritime Museum through June 22.
The museum seems a perfect venue for Yu’s solo exhibition, as it matches her love of the ocean and desire to protect nature.
“Can you believe that I still dived into the sea near Phuket Island last year?” she said. “Have you even been to the deep part of the sea? For years it has haunted me from time to time. This is where serenity, brilliance and alteration mix. I find a pure spiritual world there.”
Born in Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, Yu went to Taiwan with her parents when she was a small child. At age 20, she held her first solo exhibition and received a full scholarship to study in the United States. After graduating from the University of Louisville, she was tutored by Will Barnet (1911–2012), an American artist known for depicting the human figure and animals. Starting in 1993, she began to paint the stunning undersea world.
It can be difficult to mirror the undersea environment with rice paper and brush, so Yu uses mixed media in her paintings. On close inspection, it can be seen that some parts of the paintings use collage, a smart way to render texture.
“As we all know, rice paper is quite thin, so ... I should be very careful to do collage in pieces,” she explained. “Sometimes I also apply some fluorescent colors in the paintings. So when the painting is placed in a dark-toned exhibition space, like this small dark room, they shine exactly like what I see under the water.”
Pi Daojian, a famous art critic, said that Yu “combines traditional ink wash painting perfectly with Western expressionism, which establishes her unique art language.”
Yu, who now resides in Shanghai, said she hopes her paintings will inspire environmental awareness among viewers.
“I always said that I hope these paintings will be placed into the hands of my grandson. I would be happy for him to find exactly the same beautiful undersea world as reflected in my paintings, not something that had disappeared and was only imagined,” she said.
Date: Through June 22 (closed on Mondays), 9:30am-4:30pm
Venue: China Marine Musuem
Address: 197 Shengang Ave, Lingang New Town, Pudong New Area
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