From China to France,and back to China again,Yin Qi's heart happily harbors the deepest aspects of two different cultures. This experience makes it able for him to use his art to demonstrate the melding of two cultures' strong points,what follows is the creation of an artistic vocabulary that belongs solely and expressly to him (Contemporary Art News) The always-admirable Yin Qi has teased out a personality in his own personal art domain,for four months this spring he extends to you an invite to witness his "Industrial Natural" lifestyle that he has constructed. See the magnanimity of vision,originally not uncommon as a mere outer shell,but what should instead be seen as an intrinsic thickness.

　　Yin Qi's art is not about mountains andwater,nor is it political code,but the objects andeveryday materials r:hat he touches upon actuallyconceal a sense of magnanimity of vision,deep andprofound,they possess a sensual and lasting charm.

　　On Yin Qi's person and his art,one could saythat the two are so close they are inseparable,thatthey bear an utmost resemblance. The impressionhe leaves on people is a mountain-like steadfastnessand a heart-warming smile,but he doesn't say much.

　　His paintings,no matter whether the "Dog" seriesor the "Interiors" series,the former good-naturedlyuses color,the latter employs thermal-temperature color,always ingenuous,and his tumultuous lines are executed without an ounce of trickery. It seems just like a square,it won't ask you if you love it or not,whether you like it or not; it is like a burst of brain activity that forces you to look at it. In his person and in his paintings I see an artist who is unexpectedly able to meld these two together and not in a least bit affected way. The interesting thing is,even though I'm looking at this naked painting in front of me,with its uncomplicated canvas and the simplicity of color,it makes me recall a story from the Old Testament,that of when God was replying to Job on the sublime. I also recall the cloudy landscapes of "The Green Pine Wind Map" by Li Tang of the Song Dynasty (circaⅠ070-Ⅱ50).In that moment,I gradually understand,actually,the simplicity of life can be as sublime as it can be far-reaching. But only when your heart has stillness!

　　In the Bible's Book of Job,a truly dejected man comes before God beseeching to know why his life has become so bitter and cruel. God invites him contemplate the desert,the mountains,the rivers,the ice caps,the oceans and the heavens: these sublime lands have no need to assume such a heavy burden, such an imminent question!Job

　　was a wealthy merchant from the Land of Uz,but suddenly one day all of his good fortune changed. His wealth was plundered and his children all met with great mishaps,Job himself was covered from head to foot in carbuncles. This man,who once believed himself so distant from trauma,was in pain and darkness to the utmost degree. However,when Job confronted God with his suspicion and wavering,God intentionally directed his attention to the mountains and the seas,and made him to understand that although it might seem the entire world is without reason,actually,the world could never be ruled by deviant design. God tested Job's personal limits,and made him to appreciate his miniscule size,to learn to accept things more magnificent than he,and at the same time accept his own limited understanding of reason. This was because God knows,if humans cannot accept the personal limits that are the overflow of daily life,they are certain to be lost amidst anger and anxiety. Here nature's sublime existence becomes the course material for humanity to learn basic modesty. In actuality,speaking on the sublime,the earliest appearance of this word was in 200 A.D. in the writings of Greek philosopher Dionysius Cassius Longinus (A.D. 213-273) in his writings known as "On the Sublime." But this word also permutated with the passing of time,from I712 when this essay was slowly gained attention after a new English translation,to the point where this word became popular in vocabularies once again. Summarily speaking,the sublime,to most people,has come to possess a concrete nuance that describing these landscapes inspires a sort of joy,a good and honest feeling. Moreover,the value of these landscapes is no longer determined by formal aesthetic reasoning,and even more so it is not determined by economic value or realistic considerations,but according to whether or not these landscapes possess the power to sublimate our souls.

　　I have never asked Yin Qi whether or not he likes to be close with nature. Or if it is true that he has learned a different sort of lesson from the infinite natural elements... but I am able to appreciate the migration between different environments refracted in his creative locus,it is also possible to be conscious from whence he has chosen his method of inscription. In China Yin Qi received a deeply academic education which essentially continued during his studies in France; these two different environments had a considerably basic foreshadowing effect on Yin Qi's creative process. Chinese culture,vast and substantial,in his opinion are his mother culture,no matter where he wanders it is his umbilical cord. But,if you want to describe it from another angle,Chinese culture is not the kind to use such blatant narration; it is reticent by nature. When he arrived in France,the cultural structure was quite different from that of his mother culture. French culture and atmosphere is essentially good at articulating descriptions and are very capable of expressing extreme attitudes,but then again Yin Qi doesn't seem like the kind of Chinese who would lavish on color to express his emotions. Of course French culture also has its glamorous side,however they use caution everywhere. As for the grey,deep internalized foundation of life that is expressed in the French surroundings,although reticent and accustomed to Chinese culture,actually via what the external appearance conveys we gain an appreciation of the internal restlessness,the contrasts between the two are considerably interesting. I think,the abundant natural environment has had a considerable impact on the susceptible Yin Qi.

　　There is actually logic to Yin Qi’s creative process,the personal consideration that he needs and is thinking out. That is,if he chose ink as his medium of creative expression,for example,then early on he would have found a way to surpass the contexts and detailed standards of those peaceful landscape paintings of the early Chinese literati. After all,the creation of art,once given to this generation,the internal strife is actually nothing more than the result of the artists' origins deep in culture. Yin Qi’s innermost being has definitely experienced turmoil. I have more or less sealed this theory from observing is "Seascapes” series. This series of works is not my favorite,similar themes seem to pull his canvases down to some sort of basic,lower level. Because this kind of manipulative process has been expressed by many people in the past,despite the large empty space on the upper canvas and the compelling imaginary space in contrast with the activity on the lower parts of the painting. But I think through this kind of manipulation,Yin Qi is merely processing his composition,he has not truly expressed his internal depth or the profound tactile sensations of his life. Yin Qi is most definitely a transmitter of life's deep observations,otherwise,how could he take the most pure examples of industrial design and use them to express wisdom of life? In Yin Qi’s own words,images are materialistic- they realize a kind of non-existent desire. He says:

　　"Essentially,I have a deep suspicion of images,they are not trustable. In the "Dog"series this doubt becomes exaggerated and dramatic,something absurd. In the “Interiors” series it gradually becomes a neither hot nor cool attitude towards the material world,a feeling of distance and of self-exile.” “In my opinion,perspective is essentially not the creation of a space,but making that space disappear,a kind of non-space.” Could this statement not also be pointing out Yin Qi’s personal approach to art and his thinking?

　　Early Chinese literati paintings are absolutely the most quintessential beauty of structuralism. Citing Li Tang's work “The Green Pine Wind Map,"Chen Yunru at the Taipei National Palace Museum has an essay that elucidates this point very thoroughly: “Although ‘The Green Pine Wind Map' shows not a trace of human activity,this emerald forest in the valley is actually bustling with the vigor of life. Using Liu Bai's method of illustrating clouds,little by little they upsurge from the rear of the valley; by means of one pristine green stroke after another,repeated layers of painted ink lines become pine needles,they seem to be softly wavering in the mountain valley. Pairing different colors with the rock faces painted in various ink manipulations,it seems sunbeams are shining from different angles between the mountain valley. Upon careful inspection,it's not hard to discover that painted in slight arcs between the stones' fissures are weeds,adding even more detail to the already abundant canvas. In addition,streams painted in inky lines warble down from the rear of the pine forest,once again employing light and gentle arcs,he merges them with the stones to make a water spray,constructing an uninterrupted fountain." In his painting,Li Tang presents the effect of substance,there are layers of changing plot shifts everywhere in the landscape,he pours out purified color,sheds excessive monotonous illustration,gently departing from the endless activity of the deep landscape. Fang Wen once indicated that from an artist's perspective,Li Tang used more methods derived from the broad models of expressionism,from Guo Xi's sensible landscape method moving towards harmonious and controlled expression. Fang Wen also noted:

　　"The strength of Li Tang's works are different from the new realism of the Northern Song,moreover previewing the exquisite detail and inner control of the landscapes from the Southern Song." Cutting into Yin Qi’s art from this angle,it's not hard to imagine his using a single theme to radiate the philosophy of his structural landscapes. In one of his works titled "Black as the Origin of Light" the canvas is constructed of two cubes,one standing one lying,the grey and white strips use black as the primary color,emitting a metallic luster,Yin Qi paints in the very center of the canvas a tree with only branches. The black tree in the middle of the grey and white environment bursts through these regulated squares, also because the primary colors are stifled to the lowest degree,contrarily making the essence of the black heighten to a radiant pitch. I believe,Yin Qi attempts to use extremely standard "ties of matter, "in one respect he uses perspective to interject,on the surface it appears to construct a space; but the existence of that space is not what I'm interested in,he is purely performing a process through layers on the canvas,as much as he likes scattering and spraying space/penetrating non-space,causing the line of sight not simpy because of the monotony of color to reduce weight.

　　Yin Qi extricates himself completely from indulging in the typographical game of cultural symbols and rules,from the objects of life he extracts a sort of record and traces of social culture. I believe this should be considered one of the outstanding qualities of his artwork. The everyday objects that appear on Yin Qi’s canvases,the sofa,kitchen counter,bathtub,etc.,superficially they are all considered to be industrial objects,their material nature is extremely obvious. Also because their function has been pre-determined,Yin Qi temporarily borrows this function for a moment for the canvas,first and foremost to shave off their pre-determined use and traditional role,and then to bestow upon them the message he hopes to transmit. From the early Chinese literati Yin Qi has learned the value of consideration; he chooses monotones for the infrastructure of his endless depth of field. Yin Qi does not directly draw his themes from nature and her landscapes,I think,because it is difficult to transcend space using this nature of subject. As for these objects of industrial design,surveying them in retrospect,is it not also true that they conceal many traces of human activity?Likewise,in "The Green Pine Wind Map"

　　Li Tang does not illustrate human activity,yet every corner of the image contains the shadow of man. The sofa in your home-is that not also where man rests himself?The kitchen counter-is it not the axis from which man feeds himself and satiates his needs? In industrial design's most beautiful,basic layers Yin Qi sees the "industrial nature” in modern everyday life. Through the transformation of these elements he finds an abundant life force and creative path appropriate for him.

　　At the same time Yin Qi decided upon his subject,he discovered the appropriate technique to express himself Suppose Yin Qi chose a flat technique to oppress the emotions on the canvas... that method has been used before,moreover it would give the rendering of the industrial design a feeling much closer to design. That is not what Yin Qi desires. Through full-bodied oil paints and the exploitation of different brushes,Yin Qi enables the entire canvas to deal with the main subject,along with the motion of the veneer and the façade,giving the canvas an entirely different expressive texture. He employs a flat painting method only in the sections where he deals with the environment; its like the entire canvas is like a natural scene,following the undulating visual lines,the motion of the light,the sparse density of space... they all have a laminated spiraling rhythm. Suppose you blew up the industrial design and looked at it's precision closely,each minute detail is the same as the rhythmic changes in a natural landscape. Yin Qi’s acknowledgement of this is very informed by his own observations,to be sure,he chose these objects as his subjects,he made up his mind not to face them as industrial products,it is his psychological deconstruction of the outer shell of these industrial subjects,using the heart of a Chinese literati to examining nature to share his current industrial nature,explaining anew and bestowing upon us a new means for visual reflection.

　　It is not because of their monotone color that Yin Qi’s works lose their visual malleability. I see colors in his canvases because of shifts in the canvas's plot; there is not only depth,but even more heaviness and the feeling of weight. Reading his paintings like this,we are clearer on the former’s magnificence. Actually,it's not only an indication that the outer shell is full of power,grandeur and prodigious skill-it is also the implanting of an intrinsic thickness,a kind of magnanimity of vision.

作者：ZhengNaiming