Yehan Wang explores abstraction through his work in painting and photography. Through the systematic application of repetitive brushstrokes, Wang not only addresses abstraction in terms of painterly application, but also how paint becomes the subject of the work. Devoid of the colours that identify the markings made on the painted canvas, Wang’s manipulated photographs take the angles, lines, and textures of mundane bicycles and tubing, abstracting the content through the form, and its repetition.
A loyalty to the formalist approach is evoked in the meticulous treatment of colour, line, shape, and texture in the practice of artist Yehan Wang. This formalism is not only rendered through his treatment of the material, but also in the dual reliance between content and form. Influenced by the practices of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, Wang has developed a practice rooted in abstraction and its relation to the spiritual.
Yehan Wang was born in Shanghai, China in 1959. Graduating from the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts in 1980, he exhibited China for 15 years before immigrating to Canada, and continuing his studies in Graphic Design at George Brown College in Toronto. Wang is a resident of Coquitlam, splitting his time between Vancouver and Shanghai. Wang’s art has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout China, Singapore, Japan and North America. -----Gabe Kirkley
Selected Exhibition:
2016 “Form is Emptiness” – Yehan Wang Painting and Porcelain Solo Exhibition in FEEFAN’S Art Centre, Beijing, China
2016 “Table Manner” – Yehan Wang Photography Solo Exhibition in Wu Tong Museum, Shanghai, China
2016 “In Red” – Yehan Wang Painting & Photography Solo Exhibition in Evergreen Cultural Centre Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (Local Government Art Program Funding Award)
2015 “Metamorphosis” – Yehan Wang Solo Exhibition co-hosted by Julius Baer Group in the Rotunda Exchange Square, Central, Hong Kong
2015 “Galerie Huit Inaugural Show” – Yehan Wang Painting and Photography Solo Exhibition in Galerie Huit, Hong Kong
2014 “Abstract @ Contemporary“– Yehan Wang Solo Exhibition in the Gulf of Huangpu Greentown & Shanghai Sinan Mansion, Shanghai, China
2013 “Connected Urbanity” – Yehan Wang Solo Painting Exhibition in Linkbridge, Lincoln House, TaiKoo Place, Hong Kong
2012 “Metropolis-Pixel” – Yehan Wang Solo Exhibition supported by Julius Baer Group in the Rotunda Exchange Square, Central, Hong Kong
2011 “Metropolis-Pixel” – Wang Yehan Solo Exhibition in Today Art Museum, Beijing China
2011 “Chinese Vision” – Contemporary Art Exhibition in Opera Gallery, New York USA
2010 “Restruction” – Chinese Contemporary Abstract Art Top Exhibition in Beijing Today Art Museum
2010 “Abstract Touch” – Abstract Art 2 Men Exhibition” in Opera Gallery, Seoul Korea
2009 "Travelling With" - Contemporary Art Exhibition in Opera Gallery, Paris France
2009 "Return to Modern" - Chinese Abstract Art Exhibition in West Lake Art Museum, Hangzhou China
2008 "Beyond the Surface" - Chinese Abstract Art Juried Exhibition in Macau Art Museum
2008 "Chinese Wind" - Juried Art Exhibition in Potsdam, Germany
2007 "The Conquerors From Asia" - Contemporary Art Exhibition in Opera Gallery, Hong Kong
2007 "The True Condition – Wang Yehan 2007" - Solo Exhibition in Jindu Art Centre, Beijing China
2006 "The Third Space" - Chinese Text of Abstract Art in Shanghai Art Museum, China
1992 "The First 1990's Biannual Art Exhibition" - Juried Exhibition in Guangzhou Art Museum, China
1986 "The First Shanghai Youth Arts Exhibition" - Juried Exhibition in Shanghai Art Museum, China - (won Silver Award)
Major public collections
Cummins China
Grand Hyatt Hotel, VIP Lobby, Macao
Mandarin Oriental Paris, France
HSBC Bank in Shanghai Pudong headquarter office, China
Chopin, the Complete Mazurkas CD cover by Steinway & Sons
Luxury Art Hotel, Minneapolis, USA
Zhejiang Art Museum in Hangzhou, China
Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation, Shanghai, China
Australia government office, Sydney, Australia
Pine Stone Country Club, Seoul, Korea.