The process for me feels more like a battle between the canvas and myself. The key is to stay present and be fully aware of what is happening in every corner of the canvas…
To me, the lines and shapes in my painting are distorted and abstracted human bodies, and I let them interact with each other, creating a chaotic relationship within them as a metaphor for the tumultuous living condition of human beings. Those depictions of speed and clutter in my paintings are also imprints of anxiety and disorder from my earlier life.
My process is mostly improvisational. I spent a lot of time in the studio just simply looking at the canvas in process and waiting for it to get back to me for the next step. It feels like there is an intangible conversation between me and the painting. For me, painting functions as a sanctuary, a venture through which I find relief and know I can always count on.
– Yuan Fang, in interview with Alex Leav for Émergent Magazine
Yuan Fang (b. 1996, Shenzhen, China) holds an MFA degree from the School of Visual Arts. Fang’s work was recently acquired by the ICA Miami. Recent solo exhibitions have taken place at Prince & Wooster, New York; Half Gallery, New York; Bill Brady Gallery, Los Angeles; and ATM Gallery, New York. She has participated in group exhibitions at Stems Gallery, Brussels and COMA Gallery, Sydney, among others. Fang lives and works in Brooklyn.