° 1963, Bejing (China)
Lives and works in New York (USA)

Yun-Fei Ji paints, according to traditional Eastern art-making practice, on handmade rice paper with translucent ink or paint based on natural pigments. His peculiar draughtsmanship draws on centuries old techniques, including calligraphy. His subjects evoke traditional Chinese landscape painting: figures and scenes recall tales and epics from Chinese folklore and history. His work echoes the oeuvre of the ancient Dynasty Masters, whose paintings combined compositional and technical brilliance with expression of sorrow and melancholy, conveying an underlying political message. Yun-Fei Ji still depicts the internal difficulties of the Chinese culture, e.g. building a dam and the risks and human sorrow involved, or the failure of the communist utopia. Those social subjects give cause for the illustration of personal and symbolical fantasy, and more global, existential human tragedy and beauty. The artist borrows past events to comment on present problematic developments. Yun-Fei Ji’s works are particularly layered as they are hybrid compositions of historical narratives and autobiographical notes.

In 2001, Yun-Fei Ji took part at the Whitney Biennale in New York and The Drawing Center in New York included some works in its collection. The Old One Hundred Names at Zeno X Gallery was Yun-Fei Ji’s first European exhibition, that was successfully adopted by the Pratt Institute in New York. The solo exhibition The Empty City was held begin 2004 in the Contemporary Art Museum in St Louis, USA and travelled afterwards to The Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham MA (US) and the Richard E. Peeler ARt Center in Greencastle, MA (Us). The last years his works were included in some important group shows, as well as solo shows at James Cohan Gallery in New York and Zeno X Gallery.

The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection - Catalogue Raisonné
The Museum of Modern Art, New York (US) - texts by RATTEMEYER Christian, LOWRY Glenn D., SCHOLIS Brian, TUMLIR Jan, HERMES Manfred, GRAW Isabelle, HERBERT Martin, GERSON Scott

Arts Le Havre 08 - Biennale d’Art Contemporain - Floating weed
Biennale d’Art Contemporain - Musée Malraux, Le Havre (FR) - texts by SEBAG Ari, MORREN Linda, VAN ELK Ger, VRIENDS Arno, SCHIPPERS K.

breakout - chinese art outside china
Charta, Milano (IT)

Um Atlas de Acontecimentos / An Atlas of Events
Platform 3 - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon (PT)

Open Days - Roma Publications 1998-2005
S.M.AK., Gent (BE)

Loyal and His Band
Loyal & Galleri Loyal, Stockholm (SW)