Liang Yuanwei was born in Xi’an in 1977. Shereceived a BA from the Department of Graphic Design, School of Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1999, and a Master’s in 2004.In 2004 she began work as a teaching assistant continuing to 2006 when she started her career as an independent artist. She remains a member of the influential art group N12.
Interview Excerpt :
- Could you explain the choice of “OVAL” as the exhibition title?
- It represents how I understand this exhibition and contains several meanings. The most superficial understanding is that the path I conceived the viewers to move through the exhibition is elliptical. The exhibition is comprised of sixteen paintings, which are to be viewed in order one by one, so visitors move along the walls and thereby along the linear outline of the oval form. The clue is very clear from the numbers placed next to each painting. Some works are not fully resolved from the perspective of artistic integrity. However, that incompleteness is an essential part of establishing the system by which I make art. So, I feel that process to be elliptical rather than round; there is a tensile force. Another meaning is that my painting is based on form, but it is not just a single form. It has a clear logic, which I think is relevant to the geometric implications.
-In terms of the materials and visual effect evoked in this exhibition, there is a strong power concealed in the delicate floral patterns. Is there an influence of female identity on your works?
- I choose the subject according to my own interest. At first, there are various things I draw, such as geometric images, which has already been developing for a decade in my works. The floral pattern is used in paintings of this exhibition because it is a part of my current research. I also choose delicate flowers as my subject deliberately. Flowers are the most meaningless and materialized symbol for females. My choice of the subject is similar to the way in which Jasper Johns draws flags and targets; an American drawing the symbol of American Nationalism. Besides, it is also a repetition of symbols. In fact, the reason an artist does the most pointless thing is that they have a greater ambition, because they want to subvert this symbol and give it another meaning. For me, there is a kind of ambition in my creation. In terms of personal preference, on the contrary, I do not like that and even resist it. But I am rational and am attracted by logical things, therefore, I won’t become dependent upon a single motif when drawing, and I am open to exploring new possibilities.
- There are many parts of your work showing a sense of order and repeatability, such as the drawing of floral patterns. How do you reflect your personal emotional experience in such a process?
- I think the emotion of my works is explicit. It’s impossible to appear emotionless. This kind of painting seems sentimental, because the emotion can be sustained through the repetition on the surface. As I said, I strongly believe that I can express the inner force through well-disciplined behaviors rather than by self-catharsis, which I oppose all the time. I like this secret and contradictory force. Another point is that repetition is too general. There are two phases of my painting in this exhibition, one is the first series of works that were produced in the process of establishing a system. The other series was produced ten years later. So, we can see how the system developed during my ten-year career. It reveals an artist’s attitude towards their work. The way you face the contemporary context decides how you respond to it. No matter what approach you select, a direct or an indirect one, they represent your attitude as an artist, rather than the simple creation of a piece of work on the basis of your personal preferences. If considered from the idea of preference, an artist will only ever be a craftsman not an intellectual. Art is a very complex thing. Repeatability is not simple as you think. From this exhibition, you can see that I am not a formalistic artist. If I were, I would express an ability to construct forms rather than insist on applying this general outline of the oval to the exhibition. After you read my works carefully, you will realize they provide viewers with a space to explore. Only you go deep into it can you sense it.
