清影

Inna Art Space is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of artist Ding Renyuan, "Flesh Color", will be displayed in Hangzhou from February 25th, 2023. The exhibition features his recent paintings, which blend the human body with sensual flows, creating symbolic images that play out strange dramas full of opposing energies of domination and submission. The artist translates the ubiquitous social dynamics of giving and taking, of action and reaction, into a series of allegorical images originated from individual sensory experience.

The title "Flesh Color" derives from the artist's primary tool of creation, a flesh-colored pigment. Ding mentioned that during his study of painting, the instructors advised students to avoid using flesh-colored pigments to paint skin, as it could hinder their ability to observe the real colors of skin tones and to master subtle color blending. However, in this series of works, flesh color is the predominant hue.

Using flesh color to represent the color of flesh not only violates the optical naturalism of the color system upheld by academic education, but also reflects the core creative issue that Ding is concerned with: the relationship between action and reaction, domination and submission.

From Ding’s perspective, a pair of lovers or spouses forms the smallest political unit. The subtle reactions that arise from the interplay of dominance and submission in the throes of desire are the driving forces behind his creation, and his works are variations and amplifications of this subtle beauty. As for painting itself, Ding believes it is a game between the artist and the materials. The impulse to paint drives him to pick up a brush every day, letting the pigments pile up, cover up. The artist and the painting fight, enjoy, and compromise with each other.

Inna Art Space is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of artist Ding Renyuan, "Flesh Color", will be displayed in Hangzhou from February 25th, 2023. The exhibition features his recent paintings, which blend the human body with sensual flows, creating symbolic images that play out strange dramas full of opposing energies of domination and submission. The artist translates the ubiquitous social dynamics of giving and taking, of action and reaction, into a series of allegorical images originated from individual sensory experience.

The title "Flesh Color" derives from the artist's primary tool of creation, a flesh-colored pigment. Ding mentioned that during his study of painting, the instructors advised students to avoid using flesh-colored pigments to paint skin, as it could hinder their ability to observe the real colors of skin tones and to master subtle color blending. However, in this series of works, flesh color is the predominant hue.

Using flesh color to represent the color of flesh not only violates the optical naturalism of the color system upheld by academic education, but also reflects the core creative issue that Ding is concerned with: the relationship between action and reaction, domination and submission.

From Ding’s perspective, a pair of lovers or spouses forms the smallest political unit. The subtle reactions that arise from the interplay of dominance and submission in the throes of desire are the driving forces behind his creation, and his works are variations and amplifications of this subtle beauty. As for painting itself, Ding believes it is a game between the artist and the materials. The impulse to paint drives him to pick up a brush every day, letting the pigments pile up, cover up. The artist and the painting fight, enjoy, and compromise with each other.

In Ding 's works, sensuality and suffering coexist. The characters often remain anonymous, turning their bodies into aggressive forces in a mysterious and decisive way. He believes that a complete face represents a fixed person, while a partial face can evoke any person, and sometimes the less the artist reveals, the more is left for the audience.

The frank expression of sensuality and the half-concealed characters in the paintings leave plenty of room for imagination, which is actually an invitation, inviting the viewers to participate in the temptations and pursuits depicted in the paintings.