Yun-Fei Ji, The Fan with Cloth on It (2022) (detail). Acrylic on canvas. 76.2 x 76.2 cm. © Yun-Fei Ji 2022. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Matthew Herrmann.
Yun-Fei Ji, Bunk Bed (2022) (detail). Acrylic on canvas. 61 x 76.2 cm. © Yun-Fei Ji 2022. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Matthew Herrmann.
Yun-Fei Ji, The Fan with Cloth on It (2022). Acrylic on canvas. 76.2 x 76.2 cm. © Yun-Fei Ji 2022. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Matthew Herrmann.
Yun-Fei Ji, Bunk Bed (2022). Acrylic on canvas. 61 x 76.2 cm. © Yun-Fei Ji 2022. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Matthew Herrmann.
Yun-Fei Ji‘s paintings depict semi-fictional narratives that intermingle East and West cultures.
In a presentation that critiques the harmful impact of migration and labour across China and the United States, Yun-Fei Ji’s paintings are at once nostalgic, tender and dark.
The Fan with Cloth on It (2022) depicts fragments of everyday objects alongside a tangled mass of abstract patterns and shapes. A lone green chair, table fan and ceramic vase occupy the Chinese artist’s painting, reminding the viewer of a space in transition that is both familiar and foreign.
Employing a pastel colour palette featuring dusty pink, lavender and mauve, the Beijing-born artist gives warmth and soul to narratives of displacement.
In Bunk Bed (2022), Yun-Fei Ji portrays a cluttered interior of a room. The space feels rough and ready, with coat hangers balancing laundry and stacks of scattered papers. The intimate painting superbly demonstrates Yun-Fei Ji’s ability to charge mundane, make-shift spaces with emotion that reflects on the stories of uprooted individuals.
The Sunflower Turned Its Back is on view at James Cohan 52 Walker Street until 7 January.
Main image: Yun-Fei Ji, The Fan with Cloth on It (2022) (detail). Acrylic on canvas. 76.2 x 76.2 cm. © Yun-Fei Ji 2022. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Matthew Herrmann.
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