2018.5.23
Artist Studio
Shen Ruijun (abbreviated as Shen):
Your solo exhibition “Friendship” at Mirrored Gardens closes at 4pm due to the change of natural light. I find it conceptually intriguing. As a painter, you not only control the images, but also the viewing condition, taking account of time and space. Why pay so much attention to particular time and space?
Wang Yin (abbreviated as Wang):
It is quite straightforward. As you can see, lighting here at my studio is similar to that of Mirrored Gardens. This is the environment I work in. Most of the time, we follow certain rules and work within a rigid production system when making exhibitions in museums. We have to adapt to many things, for example, stable lighting and fixed space. But in a space like Mirrored Gardens, it was possible to restore a lighting similar to the one I work in. I have been used to painting in daylight for quite a long time.
Shen:
I find this really fascinating. In contrast to the standard lighting in museums, which in turn also forces a standardization of individual uniqueness, this is very personal.
Wang:
I could do this exhibition because the space provided such a possibility. Paintings can be read in natural light. It seemed very comfortable.
Shen:
What do you think of outdoor sketching?
Wang:
I still do outdoor sketching these years, to practise.
Shen:
Compare to your earlier sketchings, your current works are much simpler. What have you left out in this process?
Wang:
Because I look at things differently. It is not intentional but a natural process.
Shen:
Do you sketch scenery?
Wang:
Yes, I go out to sketch when I am free, mainly to practise.
Shen:
Will you be taken away by scenery when you sketch? Because you are painting something from outside yourself.
Wang:
When I do outdoor sketching, I have stronger initiative in making observations and choices.
Shen:
Which one do you think is more important? The occurrences encountered during sketching, or the cultivation of a sense of judgement?
Wang:
I mainly practise my skills and observation, like doing homework.
Shen:
Several of your paintings are flowers, why are you so interested in them?
Wang:
Not really interested, more because they are common. These two “flowers” are related to the theme of the exhibition. The interest lies in the “friendship” between flowers.
Shen:
How do you understand such “friendship”?
Wang:
Like the relationship between flowers, the focus is on “relationship”.
Shen:
How do you understand “relationship”?
Wang:
Here I mean the relationship between people.
Shen:
Then why do you like these shapes? Why refine them into geometric forms?
Wang:
I paint them differently with each painting. Some are squarer, some tend to be rounder.
Shen:
Compared to purely realistic paintings, they are a bit geometric.
Wang:
I focus more on the proportional relationship between shapes. For example, I often pay attention to some negative shapes.
Shen: Besides brushwork, what else do you borrow from Chinese tradition?
Wang:
A lot. For example, the “reduction”. There is a sentence in Zhou Bangyan’s poem, “At noon the rounded shadows of the stately trees are pools of cool delight.” How nice! Everything is in the six characters.
Shen:
Yes, that is how ancient Chinese expresses. There is also an ideal realm in addition to the literal description. Do you consider such realm in your works?
Wang:
Yes I do. Usually people call it “spirit”, which is similar in meaning.
Shen:
I noticed that you did not deliberately deal with the weak and the strong in your paintings. It seems to me that they are dealt with colours and strokes.
Wang:
Paintings are all strong. There should be the far and the near, but the far should not simply mean the weak.
Shen:
Do you mean regardless of the distance, the subjects are all real existence?
Wang:
Farness does not mean the weak. It can be far enough, but it is not weak.
Shen:
I find this quite interesting, when you said things farther away aren’t necessarily weak. You are not referring to the visual images, but the reality of existence. There is one more question. I believe you are painting a state of mind, then in what way do the paintings differ from one another? I am sure there must be difference, otherwise you won’t draw another one. But what does this difference mean to you?
Wang:
I constantly make changes to a painting, starting from the preparation sketches. You have to make many sketches to confirm something.
Shen:
Once confirmed, do you still make changes?
Wang:
Yes. It is a changing process.
Shen:
The question is, a final sketch is the result of much detailed consideration. Does that mean what you confirm is a feeling, since others would change once it’s enlarged onto canvases?
Wang:
Sometimes I become a bit uncertain on the image of the picture at certain points. Usually I will re-draw some sketches to learn about this uncertainty. For example, I may move the finger a bit downwards… I need to measure my feelings. I need to make new sketches any time during the work. Is it better to lift the finger, or is it better to move it downwards…
Shen:
So sketching is also a process of rehearsal?
Wang:
Yes, that is its function. Drawing sketches is to repeatedly familiarize yourself with the content of the subject.
