Simplicity and Mystery, the two sides of a coin
The dual exhibition featuring Fang Yang's Nearby Scenery and Ma Lili's Travelling Through the Niding Forest will open on July 27, 2024, at Leo Gallery Shanghai. Curated by Ning Wen, the Art Director of ARTnews China, the exhibition will showcase new works created by the two artists between 2023 and 2024 for the first time.
Although both Fang Yang and Ma Lili’s works relate to nature and humanity, they represent two sides of a coin: one side is simplicity, the other is mystery; one dives into life, while the other transcends it. This dual exhibition allows us to simultaneously explore our relationship with nature and the universe from different perspectives.
Fang Yang: Nearby Scenery
Continuously observing the changes in the public environment around me is the starting point of my creative practice. - Fang Yang
Fang Yang's creations are rooted in contemporary social landscapes. His ongoing interest lies in observing and contemplating daily life and the surrounding environment. Using simple forms and readily available materials, he seeks relatively free modes of expression within constraints. "Land, plants, buildings, and everyday objects gradually become spiritual symbols in my creative practice. I use them to record past and present stories, transforming them into artworks."
The frequent ecological disasters worldwide in lately are nature's alarm bells for humanity. The conflict between survival development and ecological protection has always been a complex issue. From the emergence of Land art in the late 1960s to the formation of Ecology art in the 1990s, and the hotly debated Ecofeminism in recent years, artists have been using various forms of art to express their concerns about nature and ecology.
Conceptually, "ecological art" encompasses natural ecology, social ecology, and cultural ecology, addressing related content and discourse of the three topics. From this perspective, Fang Yang's “Nearby Scenery” sculpture series can also be seen as "ecological sculptures."
Fang Yang's habit of promptly recording changes in the living environment through sketching and photography has accumulated a wealth of material for his creations. The artist attempts to document and discuss public environmental issues closely related to him through his works. He often uses discarded materials and ready-made objects generated during urban construction, creating sculptures and installations through arranging, carving, molding, and casting.
The exhibition theme Nearby Scenery is derived from a new series Fang Yang began in 2022. In these nearby sceneries, lie a few trees, a person, a house...The works appear tranquil on the surface but possess strong social critique and reflection at their core. Within the visible range, the artist collects materials on-site, and creates a batch of "landscape sculptures" by sketching on the spot and creating in the studio. These works express concern about the survival state of people amidst the rapid urban development and transition in contemporary China, the changing relationships between people and society, and the evolving modes of interaction between humans and nature.
By pausing in the present, and delving into life, we will see a different landscape.
Ma Lili: Travelling Through the Niding Forest
Embark on a journey of awareness, exploring the depths of the unknown and illuminating the light of spirituality and wisdom.
In British author James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon, Shangri-La is a fictional place, more of a spiritual haven, situated west of the Kunlun Mountains, surrounded by peaks, mysterious and harmonious. In the real world, in Deqin County, Shangri-La, Yunnan, China, there lies a hidden primary forest - Niding Primeval Forest. In Tibetan, Niding means "the place of the heart." In this sense, the Niding Forest is not just a physical forest but a spiritual one.
Following the pandemic from 2020 to 2023, people have become more attuned to their inner selves and the present moment, increasingly connecting with family and nature. In the art world, from transcendental art and surrealism to techno-shamanism, a strong wave of “spiritualism” has been making a global comeback since the 59th Venice Art Biennale in 2022, themed The Milk of Dreams. The exhibition, Travelling Through the Niding Forest, spans forests, canyons, rivers, and mountains, aiming to journey through the physical world to reach the spiritual realm, focusing deeply on the true meaning of life and humanity’s ultimate spiritual destination in the universe.
Throughout her artistic career, Ma Lili has focused on the complex spiritual connections between humans and nature that transcend corporeal bodies, time, and space. Most of the works in Traveling Through the Niding Forest were created in 2024. Starting from the 2023 'Matrix' series, Ma Lili embarked on her new creative journey, evoking associations with 'Esotericism.' In my opinion, 'Western esotericism' has a profound intrinsic connection with ancient Eastern wisdom (Taoism, Buddhism, and Zen).
If Ma Lili’s creations before 2023 blurred the boundaries between virtual and reality, her new works transcend reality, focusing on a universal, intrinsic spiritual dimension, opening the eye of awareness. “What is progress?” Does “progress” mean breaking away from “tradition” entirely, or does it signify a transformation that allows ancient truths to be understood in new ways? Whether it is Western Esotericism or Eastern spirituality, Travelling through the spiritual Niding Forest focuses on our “inner development,” exploring and embracing a new spiritual worldview that harmonizes ancient wisdom from both the East and the West.
