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= Sun Yao =

Sun Yao (Chinese: 孙尧 ; pinyin: Sūn yáo, born 1974) is a contemporary Chinese artist known for his paintings of Chinese Abstract Art. He currently lives in Shanghai.

Life and career
Born in Shanghai in 1974, Sun Yao graduated from the China Academy of Art in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree, from the Fine Arts College of Shanghai University with a master’s degree in 2001, and from the China Academy of Art with a Ph.D. in 2012. He is currently an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Shanghai University.

As one of the most important mid-generation representatives of Chinese Abstract Art, Sun Yao has held exhibitions with many prominent institutions at home and abroad, including the Shanghai Art Museum, the China Art Museum, the Long Museum, the Powerlong Art Museum, the SPSI Art Museum, the Mingyuan Art Museum, the Doland Museum of Modern Art, the Beijing Times Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Beijing, the Art Museum of China Academy of Art, the QU Art Museum, Galerie Shanghai in Munich, the Art Museum St-Urban in Lucerne, ART021 in Shanghai, the Shanghai Art Fair, Sh Contemporary in Shanghai, ART TAIPEI in Taipei, the LA Art Show in Los Angeles, Volta Art Fair in Basel, Scope Art Fair in New York and London, Pulse Art Fair in Miami Beach and New York, ARTMUC Art Fair Munich, Art Fair Tokyo, and Art Stage Singapore.

His works have been collected by numerous institutions, including HOW Art Museum, Powerlong Art Museum, Thames Art Fund, Keboda, Guangda Art Museum, TAD Design Group, Savannah College of Art and Design in the United States, the Royal House of Norway, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and many private art collectors.

In 2009, Sun Yao visited Norway at the invitation of the Norwegian Embassy in China and created "Trace of Aurora" for the Norwegian Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, which attracted wide attention from home and abroad. China Central Television's "Discovery Journey" program made a special report called "Chasing the Invisible Sun" on him.

In 2020, Sun Yao collaborated with WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to participate in the "Journey of Water" Art Exhibition as the representative, calling on the public to pay attention to drinking water sources and wetland ecosystems.

On January 9, 2021, Sun Yao participated in the EVENTO D'ARTE SINO-ITALIANO 2020 Tiziano Painting Competition "Pursuit of Light Ensemble," and his work "Neverland-Diana Resting" won the Jury Award. To mark the 500th anniversary of Titian's birth, the exhibition is sponsored by the Fondazione Centro Studi Tiziano e Cadore and the Central Academy of Fine Arts International College.

Sun Yao's Art Works
Sun Yao is a dream maker who constructs "a dream scene after the end of mankind" in his paintings. "Star Wars," "The Man from Atlantis," "Astro Boy," and "A Journey to the Center of the Earth" were among the fantastic science fictions that accompanied Sun as a child. He was crazy and curious about the moon landing, the underwater world, black hole exploration, extraterrestrial life, and space shuttle, etc. However, when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members in 1986, the 12-year-old Sun felt anxious about the unknown and technology for the first time, wondering how humans who mastered the technology of conquering the universe could be so fragile.

Landscape of Body

When he graduated from undergraduate studies in 1998 with hope for the future and fear of death, Sun Yao rendered his imaginations, which began to take shape, in his works. He self-consistently imagined that "if humans are fundamentally integrated with nature, would they have enough power to counter the uncertainty of the future?" Therefore, "eliminating the boundary between man and nature" became a major motif of his early creations. In his early period of "body and landscape," Sun Yao explored all forms and languages to erode the "edges," such as the human bodies appearing indistinctly in the mist (the realistic period), the disappearing human bodies in monochrome paintings (Body series), the human bodies outlined with single lines in color-field paintings (Landscape of Heart series), and the human bodies hidden in the landscape of mountains and rivers (Landscape of Body series). In all these images, the bodies are well integrated with nature.

Elegy of Face

The change of formal language seems to be a trap of infinite cycles. Sun Yao began to seek deeper "themes." Compared with the body, he thought that "face" carried more emotions, was more complicated, and could better represent the existence of a "human" as an existence itself.

Sun draws his materials from portraits in the news, movies, historical archives, and documentaries. The faces with starkly different emotions were turned into landscapes in his paintings. Grief, rapture, emptiness, and endless emotions were compressed into landscapes before a rainstorm. The "Landscape of Face" series was thus born. By contrast, in the same period, he rendered his impressions of family, relatives, as well as people around him in the "Trace" series in soft, lyrical strokes and with infinite warmth and intense love. In his view, the imprint stems from emotion, and the feelings determine the appearance of things.

In 2009, Sun Yao created the extremely poetic, mythological "Deep Forest" series. Jungle valleys and swirling waterfalls converge to form fascinating magical faces, just like the elegy sung by the Lady of Shalott on the boat that sails to the Son of Mankind. The yearning for the sublime and the disillusion with innocence hug closely at that moment. Sun Yao hid a child as lonely as the Holy Spirit in the image, and that child was the painter himself, as well as the original purity at the bottom of our hearts.

Inner Starry Sky

Whether it was the body or the face, they were separated by boundaries in cognitive form. That is, on one side were body and face of the self, while on the other side was nature. The motif of "eliminating the boundary between man and nature" caught in a helpless trap.

Then, in a severe Achilles tendon rupture, Sun Yao felt the connection between "the inner self and the universe." The skeleton in the X-ray film, without any cover on it, revealed the ghostly inner world, which was like a vast starry sky without barriers. The artist tried to explore the deeper, more inner magical world, including tendons, fibers, neurons, cells, etc.

The inner world of man is a starry sky that infinitely spreads to the outer universe. The anxiety over the "boundary" in the motif seems to be no longer important.

While the technology of the last century could produce the "shock experience" according to Walter Benjamin, today Sun Yao has lost interest in the constantly updating prospects of the world of tomorrow. The wave of the times, the whirlpool of technology, and the world that rolls forward have prompted him to rethink how "the inner self" should get along with the world.

Elapsing River

As Maurice Merleau-Ponty said, "A painter offers his body. He lends his body to the world before turning the world into a painting."

In "The River Runs Through It" series, Sun Yao depicted the traces of "passage" through subconscious body movements. The brushstrokes walk freely on the canvas. The "boundary" is established in the brushstrokes and then melted in them. The oil paint constantly washes the picture, flowing like a river between the solidified pigment layers, sometimes blocked by the deposited color material, and sometimes dissolving the thin, unsolid color layers. "Relics" like the ancient city of Petra are left on the picture. "Passage" has become eternal.

"The River Runs Through It" series is a transitional chapter. The subconscious physical painting movements and the fleeting, fragile picture rheology pave the way for Sun Yao's future art.

Tribute to Disaster

In the series of "River of Entropy" and "Neverland," Sun Yao sung "a tribute to disaster." He continually weaved the chapters of the "Dreams of the Doomsday" like he was destined to. In these dreams, the brushstrokes and colors flow round and round, instantly pulling the viewer into a world that is experiencing extinction. The undercurrents, tsunami, and vortices seem to herald the moment when God destroys the mankind with the flood. Then where are we going to be? In the center of the picture marked by desperation, there is an isolated island. Is it a place of refuge? It seems so close and so distant.

Sun Yao believes that "the darker the disaster, the brighter the human imagination of the sublime." This is why he is good at painting with monochrome and light/dark contrast. He composed one requiem after another with psychedelic ambiguity similar to that of James Joyce. Looking at the paintings, the viewer would feel like those requiems are being crooned in the ear. Through dark dreams and using a large painting vocabulary, Sun Yao constantly questioned the destiny and existence of mankind from the horizons of history, culture, and philosophy.

"Disaster and humanity" has become his most important motif at the current stage.

End and Rebirth

In 2018, due to the continued serious illness of a family member, Sun Yao had to visit the ICU of the hospital frequently. Wherever he saw, it was full of despair and struggle for survival. Seriously ill and distorted faces, painful cries, icy and dirty medical sheets, and the scrambling crowds were all reminiscent of the scenes painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in The Procession to Calvary.

"Landscape - Neverland" group painting is a giant work dedicated to Sun Yao's father.

The 42-meter giant work surrounds to form "a view after the end of mankind." The audience would be lured in and fall into meditation. In the group painting, Sun Yao combined painting with an endless, fluidic experience so that the viewer would be immersed in a grand dream of radical destruction on the doomsday.

Black and white intertwine, like starlight penetrating the dark night sky. The brushstrokes in the picture entangle and float, like black holes that devour hope, and also like a mother's womb - violent but gentle. A Norwegian light-hunting trip ten years ago triggered this feeling. On that trip, Sun Yao almost missed the aurora but felt absolute darkness. The long darkness made him wonder whether the dazzling brightness was a channel, the last moment of despair, the glory in the depth of human nature, or a delusion of breaking away from the warm embrace of nature.

The motif of "disaster and humanity," Sun Yao is still exploring.

Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions:

2023

Think As Expression; Roche Bobois; Hangzhou, China

Between ZUO&YOU; SoArt Gallery; Shanghai, China

2022

Intimate Sky; Roche Bobois; Shanghai, China

Instant is Permanent; Powerlong Art Museum; Shanghai, China

2021

Eternity in A Moment; Pusu Art Space; Shanghai, China

Isle: Selected; QU Art Museum, Suzhou, China

Isle: OPUS; QU Art Museum, Suzhou, China

Neverland; SPSI Art Museum; Shanghai, China

2020

Chaos: Sun Yao & Doris Ernst Joint Exhibition; Co Space; Shanghai, China

2019

Self Consistent; Liang Project Co Space; Shanghai, China

2018

Hidden Places; Museum of China National Academy of Fine Arts; Hangzhou, China

Silent Waves; Pata Gallery; Shanghai, China

Night Floating; Pusu Art Space; Shanghai, China

2017

Appearance; Galerie Shanghai; Munich, Germany

Traces of Metaphor; Lin Gang Contemporary Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Neverland; Liang Project; Shanghai, China

2015

Mystique; E space Artoon; Shanghai, China

To the Stars; L+ Art Space; Shanghai, China

2012

Secret reflection; Shanghai Art Museum; Shanghai, China

2010

Topographies of the self; Other Gallery; Shanghai, China

2007

Landscape of Face; 55 Gallery; Shanghai, China

2006

The Holy Family; Scope Art Fair; New York, United States

2005

Landscape of Heart; 55 Gallery; Shanghai, China

2004

Landscape of Body; 55 Gallery; Bangkok, Thailand

Original; Top Floor Gallery; Shanghai, China

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2022

Wind from the Sea; China Art Palace; Shanghai, China

Forever Young; Holly’s Space; Shanghai, China

Sensation of Touch: The Irreplaceability of Painting; Yongle Art Space; Beijing, China

Passing On HAIPAI: Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts Oil Painting Exhibition; Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts; Shanghai, China

Reconstituted Neon: National Youth Art Invitation Exhibition; Shanghai Style Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Nameless Voice; BFM Art Center; Suzhou, China

2021

Amber Light: Contemporary Art Project; Fibre; Shanghai, China

Weave Human East Virtual; Infinite Art Center; Nantong, China

The Magnetic Field: Yellow Box Experiment Space; Himalayas Museum; Shanghai, China

Black and White – The Origins of Art: Contemporary Art Project; MARKOR CAVE; Beijing, China

China Expressionism: Youth Contemporary Art Nomination Exhibition; Tai Art Museum; Shanghai, China

2020

Architecture Festival: The Resurgence of Wooden Architecture; chi K11 Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Origin; WWF & Sinan; Shanghai, China

Revive in Art; Beijing Times Art Museum; Beijing, China

Shanghai Art Fair; Shanghai, China

LA Art Show; Los Angeles, United States

2019

Art 021 Art Fair; Shanghai, China

Art Taipei; Taipei, China

ARTMUC Art Fair Munich; Munich, Germany

2018

Familiar Scenery - Fubon Bank Contemporary Art Project; Fubon Bank; Shanghai, China

Onomatopoeia; Rong Yi Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Beyond Polyprism; Lin Gang Contemporary Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Wu Ni Chong - Contemporary Art Exhibition; Man JInghua Art Museum; Shenzhen, China

New Paintings; Liang Project; Shanghai, China

Sense of Paper - Melting Point; L+ Space; Shanghai, China

New Paintings - Between Images and Forms; Shanghai Baoshan Folk Art Exposition; Shanghai, China

2017

The sketch is the intention; Museum of China Academy of Fine Arts; Hangzhou, China

Wan - Contemporary Art Exhibition; Spring Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Refresh - Contemporary Art Collect Exhibition; We Gallery; Shanghai, China

Zhao Yebai - Contemporary Art Collect Exhibition; Yard Gallery; Shanghai, China

2016

Autobiography - New Chinese Painting Invitation Exhibition; Ningbo Art Museum; Ningbo, China

Shanghai 70s - Youth Artists Exhibition; China Art Museum; Shanghai, China

CEB Private Banking “Blanc” Exhibition of Contemporary Artists; Je Fine Gallery; Shanghai, China

70/80; Liang Project; Shanghai, China

Abstraction China 2016; Mingyuan Contemporary Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Divisible Natures; Co Space; Shanghai, China

Art Stage Singapore; Singapore

Crucial Links: Chinese Contemporary Art Invitation Exhibition; Art Museum St-Urban; Lucerne, Switzerland

2015

Monochrome; Co Space; Shanghai, China

Scan: Contemporary Art Exhibition; Riverside Art Museum; Beijing, China

Co Space One; Co Space; Shanghai, China

Scan: Contemporary Art Exhibition; Peninsula Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Enclothe The City: National Arts Exhibition for Academic Research and Exchange from Academy of Fine Arts; Shanghai Hong Miao Art Center; Shanghai, China

Idealistic Imagery; Lin Gang Contemporary Art Museum; Shanghai, China

“Youth Art +” Youth Artist Promotion Plan Annual Exhibition; Museum of Contemporary Art Beijing; Beijing, China

Autobiography; L+ Art Space; Shanghai, China

Garden Splendor - Chinese Contemporary Art Invitational Exhibition; Jinji Lake Art Museum; Suzhou, China

Lin Gang Contemporary Art Museum Opening Exhibition; Lin Gang Contemporary Art Museum; Shanghai, China

What can we do if no flower; Vast Art Center on the Bund ; Shanghai, China

Urban Living Room: 10th Shanghai Biennale Urban work & shop; Jing An Kerry Centre; Shanghai, China

A Tale of Two Cities; Doland Museum of Modern Art; Shanghai, China

2014

Dusk at the edge of the lake: Chinese Contemporary Art of West Lake; San Shang Art Museum; Hangzhou, China

Prophesy; Up Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Lost Portraits; Long Museum; Shanghai, China

Estrangement; Shanghai Xuhui Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Paintings of being here; China Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Shanghai Xintiandi Contemporary Public Art Exhibition; Xintiandi; Shanghai, China

Ray of Light; Upto Art Space; Shanghai, China

Password; 1929 Art Space; Shanghai, China

2013

DS China Contemporary Art Avant-Grade Awards; Shanghai, China

Transformation; Other Gallery; Shanghai, China

AN; Upto Art Space; Shanghai, China

Beijing International Art Fair; Beijing, China

2012

Light and Shadow; Shanghai Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair; Shanghai, China

Figural Constellations: Franco-Sino Grand Exhibition of Figural Expressionism; Shanghai Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Beyond Representation: An Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Art; Bank of China Tower; Hong Kong, China

Shanghai Art Fair - The Exhibition of Young Artists; Shanghai, China

2011

Silent Poems; TAD Design Group; Shanghai, China

Phenomenology and Contemporary Art; Museum of China Academy of Fine Arts; Hangzhou, China

Mountain-Forming and Water-Forming: Gao Mi Biennial; Shandong, China

Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair; Shanghai, China

Nord Art in Carlshütte; Carlshütte, Germany

Faraway Beauty Lingers; Other Gallery; Shanghai, China

2010

Art Stage Singapore; Singapore

Suspensions of Disbelief; Other Gallery; Shanghai, China

Trace of Aurora; Pavilion of Norway, Shanghai Expo; Shanghai, China

REPUBLIC - NOTCH 5th Anniversary Retrospective; DDM Warehouse; Shanghai, China

Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair; Shanghai, China

2009

Making The Future; Qinghe Art Museum; Nanjing, China

Pulse Art Fair; Miami Beach, United States

Volta Art Fair; Basel, Switzerland

In 2009 The First China’s Young Artists Contemporary Exhibition; The Bund Museum; Shanghai, China

Evolution; Doland Museum of Modern Art; Shanghai, China

2008

Digital Media Painting; Doland Museum of Modern Art; Shanghai, China

Getting Close; Black Bridge Museum; Beijing, China

2007

China Today; Bartha & Senaclens Gallery; Geneva, Switzerland

Beijing International Art Fair; Beijing, China

Continuation; 55 Gallery; Shanghai, China

Art Fair Tokyo; Tokyo, Japan

Pulse Art Fair; New York, United States

2006

Scope Art Fair; London, United Kingdom

Beijing International Art Fair; Beijing, China

Beijing CIGE International Art Fair; Beijing, China

2004

10th National Arts Exhibition; Shanghai Art Museum; Shanghai, China

2002

Walking from Yanan - 60th Anniversary Art Exhibition; Shanghai Art Museum; Shanghai, China

2001

Shanghai Youth Biennial; Liu Haisu Art Museum; Shanghai, China

2000

Shanghai Youth Biennial; Shanghai Art Museum; Shanghai, China

Reference
Sun Yao, Research into Brush Strokes and Texture in Oil Painting, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, 2012.

Raul Zamudio, ‘Sun Yao: Painting Between Being and Nothingness’, in Sun Yao: Traces of Metaphor 2010-2016, Ge Jinyan, n.p. 2016, p. 10.