Yang Jiechang


Yang Jiechang is a Chinese contemporary artist who emigrated to Europe in 1989.

Life

Yang was born in Foshan in Guangdong Province, PR China, in 1956. He belongs to what in China is called the "second generation of contemporary artists". He grew up during the Cultural Revolution and the beginning of his artistic career coincided with China’s political opening in the late 1970s and 1980s. He was trained in the techniques of paper mounting, calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, where he taught until 1988. In 1989 he participated in the exhibition Les magiciens de la terre in the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. He decided to remain in Europe.
Yang's first decade in Europe was a period of introspection and reinvention of identity, as reflected in his series of large monochrome black ink paintings, the Hundred Layers of Ink. After the shock of the September 11 attacks, these monochrome meditative inks were superseded by figurative paintings and videos referencing critical subjects and actual events.

Exhibitions

Yang has participated in numerous exhibitions, including:
On film