DING YI
b. 1962, ChinaDing Yi has been making abstract paintings using crosses and grids since the late 1980s. The cross, whether a + or an x with thematic variation, is a motif that the artist has declared a formal mark without meaning, in order to emphasise his rationalist approach to painting. The context of Ding’s work has always been the incredibly fast-paced development of the industrial urban environment in post-socialist China, and the work, whether predominantly black, painted on tartan, or elaborated in intense fluorescent colours, all bear the title Appearance of Crosses with a date. Ding’s practice encompasses painting, sculpture, spatial installation and architecture.
Ding Yi’s work is held in private and public collections internationally including the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Daimler Art Collection, Berlin; DSL Collection, Paris; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; Long Museum, Shanghai; M+, Hong Kong; and Yuz Museum in Shanghai.
Recent solo exhibitions for the artist include Ding Yi at Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK (2017), Re-Appearance of Crosses, a retrospective at the Hubei Museum of Art in Wuhan, China (23 April–2 June, 2016), and participation in Art Basel Unlimited (16 June–19 June, 2016).
Courtesy Timothy Taylor
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