Paysage international, 1996, wall painting, 300 x 2000 cm, Le Consortium, Dijon.

The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (UCCA) presents Landscape of Childhood, an exhibition by major artist Yan Pei-Ming. Following his Les Funérailles de Monna Lisa’s exhibition at the Musée du Louvre, Landscape of Childhood will stand as a surprising show and a first in Yan Pei-Ming’s career, producing a show without canvases, an experimental installation.

Jerome Sans, UCCA Director and co-curator of Landscape of Childhood said: ‘’Yan Pei-Ming has become the ultimate artist, portraying the iconic characters of our time; his work is a major touchstone on the international contemporary art scene and this show should remain a landmark in history since it features the portraits of future icons: the next generation of Chinese citizens framed by an empty landscape, the future ’’.

Huge landscapes painted directly onto UCCA big hall’s walls frame a series of silkscreen flags, representing 34 portraits of new-born babies and children. Imagined as a walk through a “forest” of faces and urban views, the exhibition powerfully conveys Yan Pei-Ming’s intentions and gives the audience an opportunity to discover a vision of our world in a landscape of crisis and beyond.

Yan Pei-Ming is famous for his large monochromatic portraits executed in either black and white or shades of red. He said: ‘I have never felt that it is necessary to put things around the people; I just want to draw portraits.’

Guo Xiaoyan, UCCA Chief Curator and co-curator of Landscape of Childhood said: ‘’Yan Pei-Ming’s portraits, furiously and quickly executed with a strong, large brushstroke technique reflect the artist’s concerns about society’s conflicts and international politics and present his ongoing concern for the problem of universal human nature’’.

Born in Shanghai in 1960 and living in Dijon, France since the early 1980s, Yan Pei-Ming has always been interested in the concepts of individuality and anonymity which are expressed through the portraits and landscapes he paints. He is one of the first contemporary Chinese artists to have settled abroad and build his career.

Yan Pei-Ming has taken part in numerous group and solo shows. The artist’s many prestigious group shows include Villa aperta, Villa Médicis, Rome, Italy (2009), Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad, La Lonja de Zaragoza, Saragosse, Spain (2009), Other’s World, MoCA Shanghai, Shanghai, China (2008), The Gallery, David Zwirner, New York, USA (2008), Yan Pei-Ming, Gu Dexin, Yang Jiechang, The Red Mansion Foundation, London, United Kingdom (2007), Size Matters: XXL, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, New York, USA (2007),The unhomely, Phantom Scenes in Global Society, 2nd International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Seville, Spain (2006), A propos du Lingchi (supplice des 100 morceaux), with Huang Yong Ping, Musée Denon, Chalon-sur-Saône, France (2004), Moi - Autoportraits du xxe siècle, Musee du Luxembourg, Paris, France ( 2004), New Zone-Chinese Art, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland (2003), The Venice Biennale, Italy (2003 and 1995) and Lyon Biennale, France ( 2000 and 1997).

Yan Pei-Ming’s most celebrated solo exhibitions include The Way of the Dragon, Kunsthalle, Mannheim, Germany (2004), Hommage à mon père, Dijon-Shanghai-Guangdong, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai and Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China (2005), Inside the red window-Confession, Gallery Massimo De Carlo, Milan, Italy (2005), Execution, Musée d’Art Moderne, Saint-Etienne, France (2006), You maintain a sense of balance in the midst of great success, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA(2007), The Yan Pei-Ming Show, Galleria Massimo De Carlo, Milan, Italy(2007), Portraits d’artistes, Fondation Maeght, France (2007), Yan Pei-Ming with Yan Pei-Ming, GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy (2008), Life Souvenir, Des Moines Art Center, Iowa, USA (2008), Yes, San Francisco, California, USA (2009), Les Funérailles de Monna Lisa, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (2009).