Yanqing Pei

BIO

Yanqing Pei works with the idea that everything exists as one simultaneously while being connected to something else independently in her paintings. Her practice is an exploration of the intimate symbiotic relationship between human beings and their surroundings with the focus on nature, as well as imaginations of poetic spaces derived from narrative contexts composed of Chinese ideographic characters. Pei graduated with her BFA and MFA in Chinese Painting in 2014 and 2017, from China Academy of Art, and her MFA in Painting and Drawing in 2021, from Pratt Institute. Pei's work has been exhibited in Hangzhou, Nanjing, Dunkirk and New York. She is currently working and living in Brooklyn, New York.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My paintings are about the intimacy and integration between human beings and their surroundings with the focus on nature. I’m interested in how living beings are interconnected and interdependent in a complex and chaotic whole. Separate entities are somehow entangled with something other than themselves.

A being's energy and sources seem to echo with something ambiguous and mysterious from its otherness, sparking the fascination of the unknown and irregularity. The paintings capture a meditative ambience where different/elusive interactions are happening: human figures, mountains, stones, plants and animals form a symbiotic relationship—the outline of a figure turns into a ridge line, or extends to grow into the shape of a horse; a concrete form changes into a cloud-like mass or spreads out in parts, mingling with the others.

I also started a new series of abstract landscapes derived from classical Chinese poetry which contain an abundance of imagery and metaphors. I’m also interested in the pictorial nature of Chinese ideographic characters, and how it stimulates imagination in its own way. I reshape some ideographic characters and transform them into pictorial visions.

Interview with Yanqing Pei

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in becoming an artist? Who or what were some of your most important early influences?

I grew up in an artistic familial environment. My father was an industrial designer and a book collector. When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do to pass the time was to go into my dad's study room and go through the picture books that were stacked on the shelf. I remembered when I first saw Le Corbusier's architectural design for the Villa Savoye and Philippe Starck’s Juicy Salif, I was captivated by the kind of delightful eccentricity they presented to me. I knew nothing about design art and aesthetics, nor did I go into the stories behind these artists and their works, but merely viewing them was a fresh and enjoyable experience. I guess that was when I started wanting to delve deeper and experience more of this new artistic realm for myself. The richness and vibrancy of those created visual emotions led me to begin connecting with and responding to my environment through the creation of images.

Any stories you can share about early memories of how an aspect of the arts impacted you?

During my high school years, I took part in a drawing and painting program. I was introduced to many Western artists, particularly those from the 18th and 19th centuries, among which I often looked at the works of Adolph Menzel, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Auguste Rodin and Joseph Mallord William Turner. Every year, our program scheduled a field trip, and once we visited a fishing village with many shipyards located along the shore. While we were touring a shipyard on a normal day, a storm sprang out. I remembered looking at the heavy sea of torrential rain and the surging waves, and the scene suddenly reminded me of the sea in Turner’s paintings. As the seascapes of Turner and the scenery before my eyes merged, a strange and exciting resonance transcended time and place. At that moment, I felt rewarded by an inexplicable sense of contentment. I took great pleasure in the emotional connection between my personal experience and a work of art. This could be one of my future incentives to delve more into the arts.

Where are you currently based and what initially brought you there? Are there any aspects of this specific location or community that have inspired your work?

I'm currently living in Brooklyn, New York where I received my MFA from Pratt Institute. Occasionally, I would go west from my apartment in the direction of Downtown Brooklyn and take a stroll around the Dumbo neighborhood (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), which offers a nice view of Manhattan. The city is a huge complex that celebrates cultural diversity and features a vast array of arts. The arts groups play a vital part in this thriving community.

Can you describe your studio space? What are some of the most crucial aspects of a studio that make it functional? Do any of these specific aspects directly affect your work?

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, I’ve been painting in my apartment. I was very lucky to share a spare room as a studio space with my roommate. It is the apartment’s front room with two windows facing north, so there is always ample natural light. I normally paint by one of the windows against a red brick wall. At some quiet moment in the morning or after sunset, instead of listening to music, I like working with the rustling of leaves and the gentle rumbling of the pipes inside the old building.

What is a typical day like? If you don't have a typical day, what is an ideal day?

If it is a day in the studio, I usually start with some brief readings, drawings or calligraphy before moving on to my ongoing paintings. Most of the time I prefer working throughout the daytime with good natural lighting, and will keep working until it grows dark. On an occasional basis, I will work through the night. I like it when it is dark and quiet, with few outside distractions and only the sound of silence.

What gets you in a creative groove or flow? Are snacks involved? ☺

I feel like I am consistently in a creative mindset. Usually, even when I am not actively working on a work, my mind is in a similar state to what it will be when I am creating something. I put down whatever interests me at the moment, which may be somewhat fragmentary or unrelated to my ongoing practice. Before starting a new painting, I usually review my notes and sketches, or peruse my photo collection. Researching also helps me to think. Occasionally, I will just start with a blank canvas aimlessly and let my instinct be the guide. Sometimes a daydream may be a peculiar way to get me in a new creative flow. A nice cup of tea or coffee is my standard reward throughout the creative process.

Is there anything that interrupts and stagnates your creative energy?

One thing is that I need to regulate my time allocation in order to avoid unnecessary anxiety if I cannot commit enough time to my studio practice. There are also moments of bottlenecks that can be troubling. However, as long as the creative process is consistently maintained, the difficulties will surprisingly turn out to be gratifying.

How do you select materials? How long have you worked with this particular media or method?

In the past three years, I’ve been mostly working with oil paints, and also ink and watercolor on canvas. During my college studies in China, I studied traditional Chinese painting and became familiar with traditional Chinese painting tools and mediums such as rice paper, silk, ink, and calligraphy brushes. As I shifted to other surfaces and explored the different qualities of them, I focused more on canvas, which is less absorbent and more resistant to abrasion. Typically, I stretch the unprimed canvas by myself. I establish a connection with the surface by touching the fabric from the outset. I use clear gesso and mix color gesso as needed. White gesso somehow is visually a little too dazzling to me, whereas colored gesso brings a sense of earthiness and thickness to the surface. Beginning with the neutral tone of raw canvas feels more breathable, and some parts of the raw canvas will be left later as empty spaces on the paintings.

I still use calligraphy brushes and ink when I begin a painting. The roughness and pliability of the raw canvas goes well with the delicacy and fluidity of the brushstrokes. When I switch from familiar materials to the new ones, I always re-examine my habitual response. Also affected by the shift in materials is the portrayal of particular images. I think one of the most significant changes is the "thickness" of the work. In the past, I mostly shaped the heaviness of the objects by altering the intensity of ink on rice paper. Now on top of that, I work with more gestures and motions on canvas with thicker mediums like gesso and oil paints. Through washing, wiping, rubbing, layering and pasting, I hope the paintings have richer layers and a more substantial texture.

Can you walk us through your overall process? How long has this approach been a part of your practice?

There are two series of paintings that I’ve been working on recently. I’m interested in the intimacy and integration between humans and their environments, with an emphasis on nature. In this series, in order to picture the vast and intricate interconnectedness of various living beings, I need to sort through a lot of image material (in my collection and from other resources). Inspirations usually come from my observation from daily life and travel. I have a tendency to initiate with concrete objective existences to appreciate their particular individuality. Then I study their own story and their connections to their environment.

The other series consists of abstract landscapes paintings carved into being with Chinese ideograms; I also experiment with different approaches to visualizing Chinese poetry. I am intrigued by the graphical quality of Chinese ideographic characters and how, in its own way, it stimulates the imagination. I transform some ideographic characters into pictorial visions by reshaping them. Most of my inspirations come from classical Chinese poetry which expresses thoughts, emotions, and attitudes through natural objects and scenes with flexible syntax. They are rich in imagery and metaphors, and often reflect a spirit of introspection. The imagination derived from these poems may take in the forms of concrete images, abstract marks, or any other forms. The written contexts will eventually become illegible marks and blend in with other layers of components on the paintings. When I’m working on this series, I usually don’t need to check photos or reference pictures as much.

Can you talk about some of the ongoing interests, imagery, and concepts that have informed your process and body of work over time? How do you anticipate your work progressing in the future?

I have just begun rereading classic Chinese poems from the Song dynasty, particularly those in which I was immersed as a child. I intentionally refrained from holding any preconceived notions or knowledge, and I was surprised by the new insights on this encounter.

I also had some readings about how multiple interpretations of images may drive artistic innovations. As a result of individual variances, multiple interpretations and predictions are made of the same visual. An artist may need to eliminate certain components in order to retain the most important idea of a work and avoid a significant disparity between their creative intention and the viewer's interpretation. I found it interesting, as I don’t generally consider too much about how my artworks will be viewed when creating them. Nonetheless, developing effective communication with the viewers is something to think about.

Do you pursue any collaborations, projects, or careers in addition to your studio practice? If so, can you tell us more about those projects, and are there connections between your studio practice and these endeavors?

I've been assisting an art advisor agency with research-based projects, which allows me to participate in the art market and art business in a different way.

As a result of the pandemic, many artists have experienced limited access to their studios or loss of exhibitions, income, or other opportunities. Has your way of working (or not working) shifted significantly during this time? Are there unexpected insights or particular challenges you’ve experienced?

I felt very fortunate that a spare room became available in my apartment so that I could use it as a studio space. That was a tremendous relief for me. At the beginning of the quarantine, I experienced a strong sense of being stuck. That was when I commenced my “Mood Board” paintings. In the paintings, there are transitions between different spaces. The scene in the center is a close-up of a flower-filled garden, while the views on the sides are receding. Everything is in a state of freedom and transcendence. I desired a place near me, perhaps a virtual garden which was large enough for me to frequently visit and take a rest. For me, these two paintings are a backyard for meditation, a respite from chaos, and a mood board for seclusion during the pandemic. They might be the most personal paintings as a result of that unique time in my life.

Can you share some of your recent influences? Are there specific works—from visual art, literature, film, or music—that are important to you?

As part of my research for my calligraphy-based abstract paintings, I reread “Ideograms in China,” a long prose poem by Henri Michaux, and “The Chinese Written Character as a Medium for Poetry” by Ernest Fenollosa. It is inspiring for me to examine my native culture from a variety of angles and in the context of a new foreign linguistic system. They offer me a fresh perspective and approach to my profession.

Who are some contemporary artists you’re excited about? What are the best exhibitions you’ve seen in recent memory and why do they stand out?

It is very difficult to mention their names since there are so many of them. Jules de Balincourt, Angela Dufresne, Julie Mehretu, Sarah Sze, Daniel Richter, Tatiana Trouvé, Louise Giovanelli, Tammy Nguyen, Matthias Weischer, among so many others, just spring up in my mind. I would also like to mention Noah Davis’s solo exhibition at David Zwirner in Manhattan two years ago. I had never seen his paintings before, and I was profoundly fascinated by them. In addition to his extraordinary artistic expression, I was impressed by the solemnity and the rich connotations in his paintings.

Do you have any tips or advice that someone has shared with you that you have found particularly helpful?

I remember an advice shared by my instructor about learning. It goes something like this: knowing and feeling are equally essential. Instead of expending our capacity to strive to comprehend everything, it is essential to feel, observe, and experience. Another piece of advice I have found extremely useful in a creative process is if you have any ideas, it is better to put them into practice right away.

What are you working on in the studio right now? What’s coming up next for you?

I am working on one of the largest paintings I have ever made. I am also preparing for a group exhibition and an art fair that will take place in New York later this year.

To find out more about Yanqing Pei check out her Instagram and website.