The Gallerie Jeanne Boucher & Gallerie Jaeger Boucher Show Yang Jiechang

Written by Claude Soultanian Friday, 28 October 2011 01:57

Paris.- Following Yang Jiechang’s solo exhibition “On Ascension” at the Bucher Gallery in 2008, they are pleased to present this coming autumn a two-part exhibition by the artist entitled “Tale of the 11th day” in their two Paris spaces, on both the Left and Right Bank of the Seine. The two-part exhibition marks their commitment to an artist whose work they have been following for over 20 years. The first opening will be in the Galerie Jeanne-Bucher space on the Left Bank,  and will present a selection of exceptional paintings from the 1990s including the '100 Layers of Ink series'. A second opening will be held in the Galerie Jaeger Bucher’s new space on the Right Bank, as part of the evening opening organised by the  galleries in the Marais during the FIAC art fair and will present the artist’s latest series of works entitled 'Stranger than Paradise'. the Left bank exhibition will remain on view until Novermber 26th, while the Right Bank show will continue through December 30th.

Yang Jiechang was born in 1956 in Foshan in southern China where he lived until 1978. He was deeply affected by the Cultural Revolution proclaimed by Mao Zedong in 1966. He took part in the mass movement by joining the red guards in the 1970s and studying calligraphy “having in view a participation in a critique of the class enemies during the Cultural Revolution”. He quickly distanced himself, deciding to study Chinese art history theory at the Canton Fine Arts Academy were he was also trained in the traditional art of ink painting. His considerable mastery of calligraphy and acute knowledge of traditional Chinese thinking could have sufficed for Yang Jiechang, but he decided nonetheless to be initiated over a period of several years into Taoism and Zen Buddhism which proved vital for the development of his formal language reduced to the essential. He emerged from this period firmly convinced that “traditional expression” in no way depends on a fixed form but resides in daily actions that evolve ad infinitum. Yang Jiechang’s work was shown outside China for the first time in the 1990s, when he became known for the series of works entitled 'One Hundred Layers of Ink' (1989-1999) which were shown in the exhibition "Les Magiciens de la Terre" at the Pompidou Centre. It was at this time that the artist settled in Paris and married German art critic Martina Köppel. This internationally acknowledged series was followed by a creative period in which his interest switched from contemplation to intervention and participation.


Entitled "Stranger than Paradise", the latest series of works to be shown at the gallery, furthers the artist exploration and questioning of our global world, calling into question the notions of control and instability that rule our collective systems of life. Basing his thinking on the idea that, in a media-dominated world where life has become unreal and fictional, authenticity has become a rare commodity, Yang Jiechang imagines “a landscape for a return to Nature” that he locates in Paradise. By calling the exhibition "Tale of the 11th Day", Yang Jiechang deliberately extends the 10th day of Boccaccio’s Decameron with his paradise landscape. In the medieval tales, ten characters have fled the plague, taking refuge in the countryside where everything seems idyllic, an earthly Eden out of time and reality. For the amusement of all, each person must relate one tale every night. Nature is omnipresent in the narratives, viewed as a protective universe where everyone can find peace of mind, a universe that contrasts strongly with the plague-ridden atmosphere of the city. On this 11th day, Yang Jiechang paints a paradise for us, where all divides, whether religious, ethnic, ideological or political, have disappeared, and with them the conflicts and wars that tear societies apart. “The choice to represent animals with their mutual feelings, inclinations and loves, was made in order to eliminate any ideological approach or form of –ism. It’s a very strange scene. In real life, this type of situation seems improbable, even impossible. That’s why I placed it in Paradise” Yang Jiechang tells us. Here, people and animals frolic quite freely, reminding us that on the one hand humans may well be animals that have evolved, but that today they have become  unnatural. Myths and legends, ancient narratives, the history of art, religion and customs and popular beliefs all relate stories of animals that have been a part of human history, accompanying our development. The Stranger than Paradise series seems to force us not to remain just at the appearances level, or in simple formal terms, the mating of men and beasts. The paintings’ provocative character perhaps fosters an awareness that our profound nature, our true humanity lies in our animality (not bestiality): an animality of the heart that beats to the unity of Creation in all its forms. If we wish to understand our nature as humankind, maybe we should accept our animal nature, love it and be one with it so that we are no longer unnatural but one with Creation in all its forms. Perhaps finding Nature within ourselves will once more open the gates of instinct and reveal portals leading to a future … a future that is human at last.

Founded in 1925 by Jeanne Bucher on rue du Cherche-Midi, the gallery is set in an avant-garde atmosphere and exhibits the main creators of modern art: Jean Arp, Georges Braque, Massimo Campigli, Girogio De Chirico, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Juan Gris, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lapicque, Laurens, Léger, Lipchitz, Masson, Miro, Piet Mondrian, Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Yves Tanguy and Torres-Garcia.  In 1947, Jean-François Jaeger took the direction of the gallery and  moved it in the 60s to its actual historical address rue de Seine where he worked with artists of the 50s and 60s such as Bissière, Jean Dubuffet, Jorn, Nevelson, Reichel, Staël, Tobey, Vieira da Silva. A few memorable exhibitions of primitive art were also realized in the 1960s. Since 2003 the direction of the gallery has been ensured by Véronique Jaeger and Frédéric Jaeger. The gallery opened a new space in October 2008 in the Marais district redesigned by the famous French architect Dominique Perrault. Its name Galerie Jaeger Bucher assimilates the two identities of its history. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.galeriejaegerbucher.com

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