Ziyue Gallery | Beijing Jiang Youqiao - Fire of Life

Ziyue Gallery has just been established. And it is an honor to officially announce the gallery’s representation of the artist Jiang Youqiao from now on. Looking forward to growing together, we will explore and support our artist in the next stage of his career development. This article provides an overview of Jiang Youqiao’s artistic career so far.

Fire No.3, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 112 × 56cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

江友桥

（Jiang Youqiao, 1968- ）

Jiang Youqiao, also known as Qiaozi, was born in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, in 1968. He mainly engaged in modern and contemporary art creation. He graduated from the Ceramic Vocational College of Fine Arts in 1985, and studied in the fourth studio of the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts from 1999 to 2000.He is also member of Beijing Oil Painting Society, member of Jiangxi Province Artists Association, member of Chinese Minority Art Society.

OilPaintingCreation

Flower in Patterned Pot, oil on canvas, 100 × 80cm, 1997. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Jiang Youqiaohas been inspired by art from childhood. His father Jiang Shaolan was also outstandingin the art industry, and he was devoted in porcelain plate paintings mainly. In such a growing environment, the father often bought some painting materials for Jiang Youqiao to have a free-spirited try. As time passed, Jiang Youqiao came to Beijing to settle down at the age of 20, and then he joined in an American arts and crafts company. Soon after, he started to study oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, laying the foundation for his future career as a professional artist.

More influenced by Western art, Jiang Youqiao is particularly interested in different materials.On the canvas, he also added some ready-made, such as collage materials, plastic mesh, gold foil and other elements. His artwork "PatternedPot - Folwer" once was exhibited in the 2nd National Still Life Oil Painting Exhibition in National Art Museum of China in Beijing in 1997. And this is one of Jiang Youqiao's representative works of youth. In the composition of classical still life,we could see a decorative style likeVienna Secession master Klimt, which is Jiang Youqiao’s exploration of this periodin oil painting.

Flower, oil on canvas, 100 × 80cm, 1997. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Autumn Birdsong, oil on canvas, 70 × 130cm, 2005. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Oil painting originated in the West, and Jiang Youqiao also tried to trace the artistic conception of the ancient Chinese in the form of oil painting. When he was very young, he heard his father talk a lot about Zhu Da - Bada Shanren. Watchingdifferent kinds of scornful eyes of the animals in Bada Shanren’s artworks, he did not fully understand but he was really impressed by this artist ever since. With the self growth inlife experience, Jiang Youqiao slowly understand Bada Shanren’s art expression. In his view, when Bada Shanren went through hardships and his life was going to decline, his art expression went to extremes, even grotesque, and these scornful eyes in artworks should be the attitude and the way of treating all things in the world, including the desperate situation of life. However, this method and attitude is by no means passiveness and ruthlessness of life, much less numbness andindifference of human nature, but the extreme way of expressing his compassion feelings for the human world with his works full of scornful eyes. So he painted a series of "Salute to Bada Shanren" to express his admiration for the ancient Chinese artist.

Fish and Lotus, oil on canvas, 70 × 130cm, 2005. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

The eternity of the universe, the nature of the world, and the ordinariness of life. Whenever I see the vast Gobi Desert, or the wasteland without boundary, I feel a reverence for the appearance created by Nature, which also deeply infatuates me. When I was young, my father showed me thealoofness of Bada Shanren, which is beyond the form. The helpless self-comfort of the artist’s verse "Fill the Western Paradise with my heart", that young boycould not get. The older I get, thedeeper I understand the artist’s concept.The self-transcendence in the distress of "Paint endless time and space", and the curiosity in normal life, they are a kind of helplessnessfacing reality, but also a form of struggle againstsolitude. Fortunately, I still have a quiet spiritual home. I don’t need gorgeous colors to embellish the scenery along the way, but the silent and boundless horizon is my psychic end-result .—Jiang Youqiao

Desert Landscape No.1, oil on canvas, 100 × 160cm, 2009. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

In 2008, Jiang Youqiao went to Songzhuang Art District, and moved from one courtyard to another, trying to find the most suitable working state. In this largest artist community in Beijing, there are often lively exchanges, continuous activities and exhibitions. But for artists, what they are actually facing is the sober hesitation about their ownpath of life ahead, as well as the urgencyto seek the self-orientation in the context of art. There are plenty of dark shades in Jiang Youqiao’s landscape paintings of this period, with dead trees struggling to reach a patch of bright sky.

Desert Landscape No.4, oil on canvas, 120 × 160cm, 2009. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

There once was a time in the Songzhuang studio, feelingdeeply lonely inside was a constant state.In those two years, I barely went out. Facing the huge canvas, I thought about how to choose my own career direction. In the lonely and cold space,it is impossible to draw sweet colors.With the frustrated spirit, it’s even more difficult to express joyful scenes. The series "Desert Landscape" expresses the state of my mind during this period. Immersed in the search for the non-real world, I tried toapproachmy spiritual home.

——Jiang Youqiao

Desert Landscape, oil on canvas, 150 × 200 cm × 3, 2010. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Compared with the first two“Desert Landscape”artworks, this painting presents a sense of balance and stability under the majestic and sensual rough brushstrokes, revealing a casualness of abstract expressionism.

"The Great Wall" series was made in the same period, continuing his exploration in the style of abstract expressionism. In terms of technique and style, he has been exploring the context between different genres in art history, which we could easily identify. However, the boundariesdissolve in his artworks.

The Great Wall No.2, oil on canvas, 100 × 130cm, 2009. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

The cultural landscape that could impress me is mainly the Great Wall, which is a kind of complex. Since my childhood, I felt that the Great Wall is imposing and powerful, and it presents a sense of security that human beings inherently need. But my Great Wall is not in the real world, it is my dream, a long spiritual journey on the ancient road, and it is the ultimate coordinate of the vast world.

——Jiang Youqiao

The Great Wall No.3, oil on canvas, 120 × 160cm, 2009. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

High-temperature colored glaze porcelain painting

After experiencing a bottleneck period on the road of oil painting creation, Jiang Youqiao accidentally re-noted the ceramic art of Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital of his birthplace, and found that ceramic artis no longer the traditional model he felt when he was a child.And the expressive force of colored glaze is extremely rich in diversity. Prompted by a sudden impulse, I temporarily left Beijing and returned to Jingdezhen, my birthplace, to engage in the research and creation of colored glaze porcelain painting.

Climbing No.1, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 117 × 83cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

The series "Climbing" is the first works that Jiang Youqiao started to study the colored glaze porcelain painting. The fine depiction of the texture of the Taihu stone and the shell of the tortoise is also his personal training in traditional Chinese realistic painting. Also known as Chinese Scholar stone, Taihu stone is prized for its abstract texture properties and used for contemplation by ancient Chinese scholars. Jiangyouqiao used colored glaze to present the three-dimensional effect, including the crevices, the perforations, and the line and the color exactly.

Climbing No2, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 55 × 55cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

He also experimented with colored glaze and painted Taihu stones in different styles and textures, from the rich three-dimensional effect to the plane decoration infancy glaze.

Climbing No.3, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 117 × 83cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Desire has no restwhile there is an end to life. Art is infinite while wisdom has a limit. "Climbing" is to remind myself to cherish the time and study diligently.

——Jiang Youqiao

Creek, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 80 × 55cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Dazhaimen, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 55 × 55cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

High-temperature colored glaze has uncertainties and random natural changes, and it has a strong artistic expressive force. After burning, the texture and gorgeous color brought by kiln fire, could achieve the oil painting effect. Its color is extremely rich in diversity, even exceeds that of Impressionism, which has the largest number of colors in all painting fields.And it also has many fancy glazes and crystal glazes that cannot be replicated by other materials. High-temperature colored glaze materials appear completely different before and after the kiln fire. The so-called "one color before the kiln, and a variety of colors after the kiln", and different colored glazes have different thickness requirements. Sometimes it needs only one kind, sometimes it's a combination of several kinds. To master all the characteristics of the whole system of colored glaze, it is necessary to repeat the experimental operations many times. Also because each color change in kiln cannot be replicated, each piece of porcelain work is absolutely unique.

Dazhaimen, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 55 × 55cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

When I was in Beijing in the early 1990s, I lived in the courtyards of different Quadrangle Dwellings for four years. For me, that’s really a good life experience. In summer, chatting with neighbors in the yard or drinking beer with the landlord, and the hostess always brings some delicious food to our room. If you drink too much outside, the landlord’s family will carry you into the house to rest as soon as you reach the door of the house. The relationship between the neighbors is also a warm scene in the Quadrangle Dwelling. It's a pity that afterwards, when I wanted to go there to have a look, but the houses I once lived in were all demolished. Later, I painted a series of Dazhaimen (Big Quadrangle DwellingsGates), which is also a special nostalgia for that life period.

——Jiang Youqiao

Dazhaimen, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 55 × 55cm, 2012. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Dazhaimen, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 113 × 57cm, 2015. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

In the series "Dazhaimen", which is the most painted series, Jiang Youqiao also reflects on Chinese traditional culture, finds the entry point from the perspective of contemporary culture and the origin of the tradition, and then organically combines the classic elements in his works. Through this series, he has matured and perfected his high-temperature colored glaze porcelain painting skills, and gradually explored his own unique practical methods for distinguishing a wide variety of colored glazes and organizing the painting steps.

waterside Town, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 55 × 55cm, 2012. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Waterside Town, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 82 × 42cm, 2012. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

I have been to the most of the waterside towns in China, and I have also been to the water city Venice. The same between them is that the residents of the waterside townshave a strong vitality. the background of light and shadow. Among the lights and shadows of the waterways, thecalm and sparkling ripples is the soft part that touches my heart.

——Jiang Youqiao

Fire, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 82 × 42cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

In winter,the coldness of the studio in Songzhuang is accompanied by the loneliness of the art courtyard, and several of them occasionally return very late. It's really cold, but at that time the soul feels even more cold. I had to do something, clean up the dead wood and weeds in the yard, and pile them in the middle of the yard like haystacks in the field. When I lighted the fire, the instant warmth soon became an irresistible temptation. Longing to embrace this blazing fire, I could make my soul feel the heat. What is the meaning of life? Whether to integrate into the jungle of human nature that follows the rules or insatiable desires, or continues the utopia I approved in the depths of my heart, is actually doomed. Just like the flame in front of me, since life is doomed to die, let the inner flame continue to burn until it goes out.

——Jiang Youqiao

Fire, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 172 × 83cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

"Fire" series is actually originated from a series of oil paintings that the artist painted long time ago in Songzhuang. After he was familiar with the properties of high-temperature colored glaze, he also tried to represent his previous oil painting works with this new material language. His feelings towards fire at this time is quite different from that period, and the "Fire" series on porcelain is also in line with the meaning of kiln fire and rebirth.

Fire, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 112 × 56cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Fire is such an indispensable and important carrier for the history of human evolution and civilization development. The development and progress of human society are always accompanied by fire. It can be said that without fire, there would be no human society, let alone the developed human civilization today. Ceramics only silently endure and accept the roasting of the fire in the kiln, but they carry the spirit of fire. My pure pursuit of art and spiritual quest can only be turned into a flame that burns in my works. As the poet Haizi wrote:

This fire is big, and it blooms in the holy motherland.

Like all poets whose dreams running as horses,

I use this fire to spend the endless dark night of my life.

——Jiang Youqiao

Autumn, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 113 x 57cm，2014. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Heavenly Dancing Performers, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 40 × 40 × 63cm, 2016. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

If the original Dunhuang frescoes were not destroyed, and the weathering caused by time, the paintings of one era may not have thedifferent characteristics of each era. This unintentional destruction makes today's frescoes a kind of painting form more concentrated in manifestation. It is now seen that its art form contains almost all modern art styles, especially the sophistication of mural colors. I think the expressive force of colored glaze should be the most suitable material for reproducing the temperament of mural art. This is also the original intention of my Dunhuang painting series, and it is as well as another form of preservation of Dunhuang art.

——Jiang Youqiao

Ajatashatru, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 83 × 135cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

Happy Summer, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 59 × 47cm, 2012. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

There were not many things to play with when I was very young, and I felt very little happiness. Only in summer, I played with my friends alongside the banks of the river, rejoiced with the enthusiasm, fishing, swimming, and chasing each other in the water. "Happy Summer" is my best memory of my youth.

——Jiang Youqiao

Exploration, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 84 × 57cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

The "Exploration" series gives full play to the material properties of high-temperature colored glaze, the grain structure and gradient color after kiln firetransformation, showing the splendor of the galaxy in the universe, as well as the three-dimensional sense of astronaut characters, and the relationship between shots from close to far away.

Exploration, high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 172× 83cm, 2013. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

When I first started the creation of colored glaze works, I invested countless amounts of time and energy, either the porcelain plaque was burnt to break out or the color was wrong.Almost desperate, I could not continueand almost gave up. After a period of cooling down, I thought of human space exploration. Space technology is the most complex and difficult exploration of human beings. Human beings still move forward after countless failures and setbacks, making it possible to trace the origin of the universe. Thinking about my own failures, compared to that persistence in space exploration technology, they are very small. Then I restarted the research and analysis of high-temperature colored glaze again.

——Jiang Youqiao

《探索》系列，high-temperature colored glaze porcelain plaque, 11× 34cm, 2015. Courtesy Ziyue Gallery

As Jiang Youqiao mentioned, high-temperature colored glaze is meanwhile a "heartbreaking" art. It takes a great deal of time to paint a piece ofwork carefully.However, the risk of plaquecracking after burning in the kiln is also very high. When we burn four porcelain plates in a kiln, usually one of them will crack, which is a common probability. Color control is especially difficult, because unlike oil painting, the color appears on the canvas is the same as the color comes out of the paint tube, while high-temperature colored glaze is white, the color could be black after burned in kiln, or black glaze turns into blue. This means that all color effects are not possible to be directly perceived when the colored glaze is initially painted on the porcelain plate. This requires the artist to be extremely familiar with the properties of each kind of colored glaze, so as to have a more accurate prediction of the color effect after the kiln fire.

In 2019, Jiang Youqiao's high-temperature colored glaze porcelain work "Dazhaimen" was successfully sold at Christie's Shanghai Autumn Auction "First Open | Shanghai: Living With Art". This is the first time in the artist's career that his work has entered Christie's. Meanwhile, he is the first artist in Chinese contemporary ceramic art field at Christie's to be reviewed and recognized by experts.

After working in oil painting for more than 20 years, he resolutely began to try to create with high-temperature colored glaze. It took several years for him to become familiar with this new material languagebytrial and error, and achieved a high degree of technical proficiency in the field of high-temperature colored glaze porcelain painting. As a seeker on the road of art, Jiang Youqiao stays away from the world at the proper time, frees himself from regular time, and sinks into meditation. Achieving a state of mind free from distractions and finding a balance between tension and relaxation. This is still the initial stage of his exploration in high-temperature colored glaze porcelain painting, and he expects his art expression to be more advanced, achieving the "harmony between man and nature" in the kiln fire.

Exhibition:

1989  First Oil Painting Exhibition of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang

1990  Hong Kong Spring Oil Painting Exhibition, Hong Kong

1997  The 2nd National Still Life Oil Painting Exhibition, National Art  Museum of China, Beijing

1997  China Art Exhibition, China International Exhibition Center, Beijing

2000  The Fourth Studio Exhibition, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

2001  Northwest China Scenery Exhibition, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

2005  Shanghai Art Fair, Shanghai

2008  The Fifth Sino-Korea Art Exchange Exhibition, Sunshine International Art Museum, Beijing

2009  The 13th Art Exhibition of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang

2010  Beijing Oil Painting Joint Exhibition "Du", Wanshengyuan Art Museum, Beijing

2010  The Exhibition of Annual of Contemporary Art of China, Sunshine International Art Museum, Beijing

2011  Chinese Abstract Art Union Exhibition, Nanjing

2012  Established "Qiaozi Work Space" in Xindu porcelain art district, Jingdezhen

2012  Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair, Jingdezhen

2012  National Chinese Youth Ceramic Art Exhibitiion Tour

2013  France UNESCO "Water and Music" Ceramic Art Exhibition, Paris

2013  "On the Tao on Porcelain" exhibition of four people, Guangzhou Baicang Art Museum, Gouangzhou

2013  Porcelain Art 100, Beijing

2013  The First Art Biennale of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang Art Center, Nanchang

2014  Porcelain Art 100, Beijing

2014  "Dunhuang on Porcelain" Exhibition, held by the Institute of Ceramic Research, Caoussel Hall, Louvre Museum, Paris

2014  Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair, Jingdezhen

2016  China Contemporary Arts and Crafts Biennale, National Museum of China, Beijing

2016  "Porcelain Language Heart Painting" Contemporary Porcelain Plate Painting Art Exhibition, M50, Moganshan, Putuo District, Shanghai

2016  "Porcelain in China - The First Academic Biennale of Porcelain Painting", Zhong Liansheng Porcelain Painting Research Institute, Beijing

2017  "National Treasure" Ceramic Culture Exhibition, Beijing

2017  "Culture Year" China-Sweden Artist Exchange Exhibition | The role of artists in society, Beijing

2018  "Millennium Jingde, China on Porcelain", the first Chinese Contemporary Porcelain Painting Exhibition held by the Chinese Artists Association

2019  The high-temperature color glazed porcelain painting work "The Grand Mansion Gate" entered the Christie's autumn auction