(Foschan 1956–lives and works i.a. in Paris)

Composition XXIX. 1990.

Ink and natural pigments on rice paper laid on a wood panel.

Signed lower left: Yang Jiechang.

96 x 178 cm.

Provenance:
- Galerie Jeanne Bucher, Paris (verso with the label).
- Purchased from the above by the present owner in the early 1990s, since then private collection Switzerland.

Yang Jiechang was born in Foshan in Guangdong Province in 1956 and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. He began his art studies in 1978 at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, where he taught for 6 years after graduating in 1982. In 1989 he was invited to participate in the exhibition “Les magiciens de la terre” at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. During the preparation for this exhibition, he developed his concept of the “Hundred Layers of Ink”, which he pursued until 1999 and of which the present work is an example.

Even before the “Hundred Layers of Ink” Yang Jiechang painted exclusively in India ink on rice paper; he then supplemented the works to a certain extent with the element of repetition. Every day he added ink at exactly the same place again and again until the paper was saturated, and then turned to a new section. In this way he elevated the two-dimensional drawing into the three-dimensional. Above all, during this process the black ink altered – becoming shinier and even appearing to shimmer white. He used a traditional Chinese technique and material to powerful effect, in order to create an entirely new concept detached from any kind of tradition.

With the exhibition in Paris, he decided to stay in Europe. Today he known for his sculptural and media works.